After Innocence
by baka-yarou
Summary: Sequel to After the Break. Naruto and co, now 3 years older, assigned a mission that relates to Naruto's past Rated M for mature subject matter, and cursing. Chapter 10 up, no longer going to be continued.
1. Chapter 1

Baka: Ah yes, The anticipated sequel to "After the break"! It is finally here! "After innocence" takes place about three years after the events in "After the Break". In other words, they are 15 years old. This also takes place after the events in the manga, so that stuff DID happen. It's just, let's hope Sasuke is back in Konoha, and things are fairly back to "normal" (as normal as Konoha, and their lives can get).  
  
Inner Baka: Ne, Baka. What else is happening?  
  
Baka: Uhm, they are all now chunin's. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura don't work on a team anymore, but they do still hang out, and are friends. They are all close, so they all sometimes act out of character around each other, meaning.Sasuke might be a bit louder around them, while he is still the giant iceberg around everyone else. And Sakura lets Inner Sakura out and Naruto.well, he still acts like a dork, but he also lets them see his sad side every now and then.  
  
IB: I see. Are you surer of what's gonna happen during this one? Or are you gonna be completely unsure, and just head blindly into this like you were with "After the Break" (in other words, I had no idea where I was going to take ATB, I just whinged it.)  
  
Baka: Heh, heh heh heh. We'll see.  
  
IB: *sigh* Baka.  
  
Baka: Also, there are some major spoilers up ahead. Heh, well, if you aren't caught up to the manga. *sigh* If you haven't read them manga, I suggest you do, though I think this is the only time I will have any type of spoiler.  
  
IB: Uhm, once I mention Orochimaru, it will be spoilers, they will stop. Hey, how about if I add a warning. Yeah. *goes and does that* .........  
  
Disclaimer: Though I don't actually "own" Naruto, I like to play pretend sometimes, and make up these stories. *ahem*  
  
.......  
  
Word list:  
  
Chunin: A ninja rank where this story takes place. It goes student, gennin, chunin, jounin, hokage. Though there are special titles, and classes depending on your abilities, like teacher, ANBU, Interrogation Squad Leader, etc.  
  
Dobe: Blockhead, Idiot, dead last. Chakra: er, Chakra is the life energy in ones body (based on Indian Yoga), and in the show/manga Naruto, it is used for all sorts of techniques and attacks, though in real life, "chakra" (also known as Chi and things like that) is used differently Orochimaru: A bad guy In the Manga/Show Naruto. He put a curse seal on Sasuke that (insert spoilers here). Also, later on in the manga he (insert more spoilers here).  
  
Hokage: Leader of the Hidden Leaf Village (the village that Naruto and Co. are from) also, best ninja of the Village.  
  
Kyuubi: The name of the demon sealed inside of Naruto.  
  
.......  
  
After Innocence Chapter One  
  
.......  
  
Naruto crouched on a branch of a tree and observed his targets movements, and jumped to the next tree when his target started to walk away.  
  
The blonde chunin was very stealthy when he wanted to be, over the past few years his abilities grew from the loud mouthed hyperactive boy, to a sly calm disciplined young man.when he wanted to be one. When he was out with his friends, he was still loud and hyper, but when it came to doing a mission, he learned how to control his emotions and calm down.  
  
And right now he was on a mission.  
  
Naruto followed his target a while longer until it got to Naruto's desired destination. *He's there, now it's time.*  
  
Naruto quietly leaped onto the roof of the apartment building and peeked over the edge down at his target. *Perfect, he is looking for his key.* Naruto reached down and felt the little lump in his pocket where the key rested.  
  
"Damnit, where did it go?" the dark haired male below Naruto muttered while he searched his pockets and the ground around him.  
  
While the dark haired boy was looking at the ground, Naruto saw the perfect chance. *NOW!* He thought and leapt off the roof onto the boy below him.  
  
"Gotcha!" he yelled as he pinned the boy down.  
  
"Naruto!" the boy shouted and struggled.  
  
Naruto laughed then tickled the other boy, "Ha ha! It's amazing! The great Uchiha Sasuke couldn't even spot the lowly Uzumaki Naruto!"  
  
Sasuke tried to hold back his laughter as Naruto tickled him, but failed and giggled. "St-stop it!" he laughed.  
  
Naruto stopped then got up and held out his hand to help Sasuke up.  
  
Sasuke swatted his hand away, "You don't need to help me up, I'm not crippled." And he got up. "Hey, have you seen my house key any where?"  
  
Naruto pulled the key out of his pocket, "You mean this one?" then he sneered.  
  
Sasuke glared, "When did you manage to get that?"  
  
"Remember when you went to the store and emptied your pockets to gather up your change? Well, you dropped your key."  
  
Sasuke swiped his key away from his friend. "Dobe. Why didn't you return it?"  
  
Naruto was unmoved by Sasukes friendly insult, "Well, first of all, I was amused by the fact you didn't notice you dropped it." Naruto smiled, "And secondly, It gave me the chance to catch you by surprise, dumbass"  
  
Sasuke smirked *He could catch me any time, hell, he could probably catch Kakashi.* Sasuke didn't like the fact that Naruto has become stronger than him, but he has slowly began to accept the fact. *Hey, that reminds me.*  
  
"Naruto, you said you were going to help me with hiding my chakra." Sasuke said.  
  
Naruto thought for a moment, "Hm, yeah I did, didn't I?" Naruto said distractedly, "When do you want me to help?"  
  
Sasuke thought for a moment, "You free tomorrow?"  
  
Naruto scrunched his nose, "I'm busy in the morning, but I'm free after lunch." Naruto's eyes lit up, "Hey, how about we go for lunch, then I can tell you all about this cool mission I did today!"  
  
Sasuke frowned, "Let me guess, I'm buying."  
  
Naruto chuckled and rubbed the back of his head, "Pleeeaase?"  
  
Sasuke smiled, "Sure, why not." Sasuke did enjoy Naruto's company; also, he liked hearing his stories. *His missions sound better than mine, though I'm sure he exaggerates a bit.*  
  
And with that, Naruto waved and ran back to his own apartment.  
  
......  
  
-Sasuke-  
  
After a short, quick supper, Sasuke went to his room and looked out the window. *Such a beautiful night* He pulled his shirt off, revealing his pale, yet athletic build to the cool air.  
  
He stripped to his boxers then flopped on his bed. He tossed a bit. *Too much on my mind.* He thought, and reached over and grabbed a pencil. He sat up and grabbed the notebook beside it.  
  
*I'll write*. Sasuke has been keeping a journal ever since he found Narutos. He thought it would be a good idea to sort his thoughts out on paper. He sighed, then began to write.  
  
Dear journal  
  
Today was another boring task. I once again had to help kids practice using their chakra. I swear, teaching kids' is not what I signed up for.  
  
What DID I sign up?  
  
Sasuke paused for a bit and thought. His life took some interesting turns in the past.  
  
I always looked up to my brother. And after he killed off our entire clan, I was living to get my revenge, and to restore the Uchiha clan.  
  
And I never lost sight of that goal.not until I was 12.  
  
Then I met them. Sakura, Kakashi, and especially Naruto. Those 3 changed me a bit. Though I tried not to lose sight of my ambition.  
  
~~==**Spoilers**==~~  
  
Kakashi once asked me, "What will you do after your revenge?"  
  
To tell you the truth, all I was doing till then was seeking power. Power to destroy my brother, and I never thought of long term plans.  
  
And in search for my power, I was persuaded by Orochimaru to join his forces. Lucky for me, Hokage sent a group after me, and in that group was Naruto. (I am not sure if they manage to get Sasuke back, it is just a prediction)  
  
If it weren't for him, where would I be? A slave to some snake-man? Heh, I'm glad Orochimaru's madness has stopped.  
  
~~==** End Spoilers **==~~  
  
Anyways, onto other things. Naruto did it again today. Ya know, sneak up on me and pounce on me.why does he do that anyways?  
  
I also asked him to help me with my chakra. Heh, back then I'd be caught DEAD before asking Naruto for help. Meh, but now I see he is stronger. And since Sakura and I found out about Kyuubi, I am not surprised.  
  
Naruto cried when he saw that we didn't care about the Kyuubi. He was so happy that we accepted it. But, how can we hate him? He isn't hate-able when you get to know him like we do.  
  
I think Naruto is a worthy 'rival', and defiantly someone I want to beat. Heh, I even have some competition in 'looks' now. Apparently he is very good-looking. More the opposite of how I am.  
  
I am beautiful, while he is handsome. The only thing I don't like is.he knows how to get the girls off of him. I should ask him how.  
  
Speaking of girls, did I mention that Sakura has stopped hanging off of me? Heh, I think I mention that every entry. GOD was that annoying.  
  
.why do I want the girls off of me?  
  
Well, this entry has become quite long. I'll end it now. See ya!  
  
.Did I just say "See ya!" to a book? Whatever.  
  
Sasuke sighed and set his journal down beside his bed and laid down. *Now I got that off my mind, time to sleep* Sasuke closed his eyes, and fell asleep almost instantaneously. (Oh god, I wish I could fall asleep that fast)  
  
........  
  
Baka: Hey. Chappie one is done! It's DONE it's DONE!  
  
IB: Yes. Done. O.o  
  
Baka: Ne ne, we gotta think of a chapter 2!  
  
IB: OOO! You wanna WORK for once! WOW!  
  
Baka: Hee hee!  
  
IB: You don't get it when I insult you, do you?  
  
Baka: Huh?  
  
IB: Idiot.  
  
Baka: YAY! 


	2. Chapter 2

Baka: WAI! Chapter 2!  
  
Inner Baka: Heh, I'm still surprised you want to actually work.  
  
Baka: Hee hee, this one is gonna be great, ne IB?  
  
IB: I guess.  
  
......  
  
Review Response:  
  
Red Rose: ^_^ Maybe he should check for signs of insanity. O.o I wouldn't be surprised if he was unstable. ^_^  
  
WuffieLuver: Hee, Sorry, but I like writing, I don't mean to make you LAZY WRITERS look bad.-.-' hm, maybe it will encourage you guys to SPEED UP..o.o.tee hee, erm, j/k.*ahem* Inner Baka: *screams* get it away! Get it away! O.o  
  
BishieHuggler: *grins* Well, Sasuke doesn't fit the category of "many people" ..*ahem* and thanks! *dies of large head* inflated ego is gonna get to me soon.  
  
Chibi Dragon: As soon as you know what it's rated for? Rated for mature content, *ahem* rape *ahem* semi-descriptive..not overly descriptive though. But only in chapter 2, and it isn't that bad. Really. It isn.t And I'mma gonna add you to my MSN list now, since I have your msn thing WHEEE! Beware!  
  
Kyuubigirl: I update! See? :D It's all shiny and updated! SHINY!  
  
Carrot stix: mmm.carrots.oh, and it will be shounen-ai. But it won't be much, mostly recognizing feelings. ^_^ *prances around* Well, since they are older, they will realize things and stuff blah blah blah. Naruto and Sasuke are a hot couple and I love them and moo I like things *rant rant rant*  
  
.......  
  
Word list:  
  
Ramen: Japanese noodle dish, in this case, miso ramen, which is noodles in some type of soup base.  
  
Chan: A title given to children, sometimes women, amongst close friends, pets, "pets", and stuffed animals.  
  
Ne: Hey.  
  
Chunin: A ninja rank where they are from. It's a commander class. Meaning they can become leaders in groups, instead of being students or subordinates. Though they do still have to take subordinate slots at times.  
  
Genjutsu: Illusionary techniques. Like make illusions.o.o.lol.hypnosis, and little things like that :D  
  
Ninjutsu: Ninja techniques. These are often special attacks, like fire breath, or sand wall, or water dragon. There are infinite possibilities here.  
  
Ino-pig: Ino is Sakura's childhood friend/rival. They constantly bicker over boys and stuff. The "pig" title was given to her, because of a card game in Japan, where the "Ino" card was a pig.  
  
Naruto's clones? : Naruto has an attack called "Kage bunshin no jutsu". This is just creating clones of yourself, made of real flesh and blood. It's a higher level technique, and very few people know it.  
  
Uzumaki Naruto Rendan: Uzumaki Naruto is his name, rendan mean combo. It's an attack he created; it is a bunch of physical attacks.  
  
Hokage: Leader of the leaf village, and also the best ninja in the village. Currently the fifth Hokage is in place. Though I am not going to get into detail as to hat happened to the third one.  
  
Konohamaru: the third Hokage's grandson. He is named after the village. And every treats him specially. No one sees him as Konohamaru; they see them as "the 3rd's grandson". When he was younger, he met Naruto, and followed him around all over, and had him teach him things. So they are close. He is also a few years younger than Naruto.  
  
People treating Naruto like crap: Naruto has a demon sealed inside of him, one that almost destroyed the village. The adults are the only ones that know that, and were sworn to secrecy. But they still don't like Naruto, and treat him poorly.  
  
.....  
  
Disclaimer: I own Naruto. And know what else I own? Microsoft! Yeah! It's true! I swear on the grave of the t-rex I also own. *nods*  
  
.....  
  
After Innocence Chapter 2  
  
....  
  
Sasuke stepped into the restaurant and looked around. He spotted Naruto at the usual table, with his arms around two girls.  
  
Naruto looked up at the entrance and saw Sasuke. "Hey! Sasuke! Come sit down!" then he mumbled something to the girls, and they left.  
  
Sasuke went and sat across from Naruto, "How do you manage to make them leave?"  
  
Naruto smiled slyly, "All they want is a little attention, so I talk to them, flirt with them etcetera, and then they are satisfied and will leave when you ask."  
  
Sasuke sighed, "I'd rather them stalk me quietly, than talk to them."  
  
Naruto chuckled, "As cold as always." Then he called to the server for some ramen.  
  
Sasuke ordered too, then smiled at Naruto, "So, what was this mission that you wanted-"  
  
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted and waved.  
  
Sasuke turned around and spotted the pink haired girl. She walked briskly to the table and sat down. She seemed stressed.  
  
Naruto also noticed this and asked, "Ne, Sakura-chan, what's up?"  
  
Sasuke closed his eyes and got ready for an earful of inane chattering. They were getting used to Sakura's rants. She often does when something gets on her nerves.  
  
But, her mouth isn't the only thing that has grown. Her abilities have also improved, and she has become not only the smartest, but the strongest female ninja in Chunin rank. Her abilities lie in Genjutsu, and she has been picking up healing and water Ninjutsu.  
  
"That stupid Ino-pig has gone and done it again! She knew I liked him! But she went and asked him out! I can't believe her!" Sakura ranted.  
  
*Too bad she only worries about boys and her looks.* Sasuke thought.  
  
Two bowls of steaming ramen were set down in front of Naruto and Sasuke. "Hey, miss, would you like anything?" the server asked.  
  
Sakura thought for a moment, "Sure, spicy chicken please!" She smiled.  
  
After Sakura got her ramen, Naruto began his story about his mission.  
  
".and then there were these three rouges, they turned out to be ninjas! They took the woman hostage and then." Naruto continued his story.  
  
*He talks more than Sakura* Sasuke though amused. *But at least he's more interesting.*  
  
".and then this other guy came out of NOWHERE and me and my clones did our good ol' 'Uzumaki Naruto rendan'!" he grinned, "And that was that! Hee hee hee!"  
  
Sasuke smiled, "Sounds fun. Actually, it sounds a million times better than what I have to do."  
  
Sakura nodded. "Yeah. You get all the exciting missions, while we are stuck doing teaching and small missions."  
  
Naruto grinned, and they were finishing their meals, when Naruto overheard a conversation.  
  
".did you hear what happened to the late third Hokage's grandson?" a woman at another table said to her friend.  
  
Naruto's ears perked up. *Konohamaru?* Naruto thought *What happened to him?*  
  
"No, what?" the other woman said.  
  
"I heard that some foreigner harassed him!" the first woman said.  
  
"Harassed as in." the second woman said.  
  
"Beaten and raped." the first one said quietly.  
  
Naruto dropped his chopsticks and bowl, spilling his ramen on the table.  
  
Sasuke looked up at him, "Hm? Naruto? What's up?"  
  
Naruto got up and went to the women, "WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"  
  
The women scoffed and glared at him, slightly fearing the boy. "Foreigner my ass, it was probably you."  
  
Naruto blanched. He felt tears sting his eyes. "I would never." then he ran out of the restaurant.  
  
Sasuke got up and went to the women, "What were you talking about?"  
  
The women smiled up at him.  
  
.....  
  
Naruto ran towards Konohamaru's house. *Those stupid women how dare they!* he thought angrily. *Though the people of this town do hate me, how dare they say that! I would never do that!*  
  
He ran up the front stairs of Konohamaru's house. It was rather large, but that wasn't surprising, considering who they were related to the late third Hokage. *But now, not only do they hate me, most people fear me.* He banged on the door, *But that doesn't matter, Konohamaru is an old friend. And I still care.*  
  
The door opened and Konohamaru's father stood there, "Naruto?"  
  
Naruto panted. "Konohamaru.where is he?"  
  
The man smirked, "In his room, but you aren't going to be seeing him."  
  
Naruto glared and pushed past the man and ran up the stairs. He burst into Konohamaru's room, only to find him huddled on the bed crying.  
  
The younger boy looked up, his medium brown hair was messed up and his eyes were puffy from crying.  
  
"Konohamaru." Naruto started.  
  
"Go away Naruto!" Konohamaru cried.  
  
The blond boy went and sat on the bed next to Konohamaru. "I heard what happened."  
  
The smaller boy sat up and glared at Naruto. "No one will shut up about it! No one! And no one knows what it's like! But they continue to talk about it! Why don't they just shut up?!"  
  
Naruto frowned, "It must be terrible."  
  
"What would YOU know?" Konohamaru shouted.  
  
Suddenly Konohamaru's dad barged in, he was holding a bat. "Naruto! You stupid punk! Get out of here!"  
  
Naruto sighed and stood up. He didn't feel like fighting with the man. "Anyways, Konohamaru. At least people care enough to acknowledge it and worry. I didn't get fuck all when it happened to me. Come talk to me, if you want."  
  
And with that, Naruto leaped out Konohamaru's window and began walking home.  
  
Konohamaru's father glared after Naruto then slammed the window shut, "Stupid brat. Konohamaru, Don't go fraternizing with that freak."  
  
Konohamaru just stared blankly at the wall and Naruto's last line repeated through his mind, ".when it happened to me." he whispered.  
  
.........  
  
Baka: *blinks* Oh my god.it's Konohamaru! Naruto's friend! :D Of course, you have to remember that Konohamaru is also 3 year older, so he's about 12 or 13. ^_^ How often is Konohamaru in fanfics? Not too often. ^_^ But he is so kawaii!  
  
Inner Baka: Ne, that was sad too! Stupid foreigners, raping Konoha's little boys.  
  
Baka: Yeah! Hee, betcha wanna know what happens next! *plans like a crazy person* MWA HA HA HA HA HA!  
  
IB: Uhm, ok. 


	3. Chapter 3

Quick Note: Sasuke is kinda OOC. But, I mentioned this before. People tend to act differently when they are around different people. And Sasuke is a classic case. An iceberg that melts around his friends. Ah, Sasuke, your OOC is mostly for amusement factor. But it still is fun. ....  
  
Review Response:  
  
Ok, you may wonder why I put this BEFORE the story instead of at the end. Well, I don't know why. I really don't. So, whatever, eh?  
  
Lily day: Yes, poor Konohamaru. And, thank you. ^_^  
  
Red Rose: Yeah. Hee hee, ah, yeah, maybe we should stop. ^_^  
  
Chibi Dragon: Ya know, we don't talk a lot *checks to see if you are online* Dah, yer not! Ah well, I'll message you tomorrow. ^_^  
  
Sadistic Demon: Sorry about that shortness. This one is longer though.  
  
Pinky_Cat: heh, I feel like that most of the time. -,-'  
  
Daze: thanks  
  
Bishiehuggler: Shanarou!  
  
Carrot stix: thanks.  
  
:D : Yeah.  
  
.......  
  
Baka: I'm BAAAAACK!  
  
Inner Baka: You weren't really gone.  
  
Baka: I know.but still.  
  
IB: Anyways, you ready for this?  
  
Baka: *pouts* No.* sits down and crosses arms*  
  
IB: Le sigh..c'mon!  
  
Baka: I am sick, I dun wanna.  
  
IB: Well.actually, you have more control over this than me, so, why don't you just stop?  
  
Baka: ..because. I want to do this.  
  
IB: .Indecisive, aren't you?  
  
Baka: In-de-ci.In-di..In-de-si-.that word! What does it mean?  
  
IB: *shakes head* And you call yourself an author.Baka, Never mind, just go do whatever.  
  
Baka: *tears self away from IRC* BAH! IRC.o.o.must.write.fic.BAH! .....  
  
Kun - a more proper title given to males. Sometimes used playfully.  
  
Jutsu - technique. In this case, he probably means a ninja technique. Which really seem kinda like spells, in my mind.  
  
Kunai - throwing knife. Common weapon in their world. Just a sharp 'arrow head' with a little handle. Not at all huge. Can be used in close range combat like a little dagger, since it is sharp, but also can be used in long range combat.  
  
Gennin - low level ninja class. Apprentice level.  
  
Nii-san - a title that younger males often call older males that are close to them. Sometimes even people they don't know. It's more literally "Brother".  
  
Lee - this is for those that haven't seen the show, but still like reading this. Lee is the 2nd most unique character in the show/manga (2nd to his sensei Gai). His appearance is rather dorky, but don't let his appearance fool you, he is probably the strongest physically. He also has a major crush on Sakura.  
  
Gouchisousama - I probably spelled it wrong, but the Japanese say it after every meal, it's roughly translated to "Thank you for the meal." Or "It was wonderful." Or something like that.  
  
Chakra - life energy, according to Buddhist meditation. Similar to Chi and stuff. The meaning is similar in this story too, it is the energy they use to execute every day actions, and also not so everyday actions like jutsu. And if you are trained, you could easily feel others' chakra. ^_^  
  
......  
  
Disclaimer: Mmmm..these are good potatoes my mom made.listen, I am 17, in high school, do you really think I own Naruto?  
  
......  
  
Naruto had his eyes closed in thought as he was walking home. *I hope Konohamaru comes and talks to me later. He really should talk to someone about it* He bumped into someone. *Eh? Most people would move out of the way.*  
  
Naruto opened his eyes and was greeted with a familiar nose. *But, of course, this person doesn't fit into the category of 'most people'.* and he wrapped his arms around the persons torso and tackled them to the ground. "Sasuke-kuuuuun!" Naruto cooed.  
  
Sasuke pushed Naruto off of him and Sakura giggled. "Must you do that?"  
  
Naruto laughed, "I'm only teasing you." He got up and dusted himself off and held his hand out to his friend.  
  
Sasuke brushed it away. "My legs are fine, thank you." And got up. "Anyways, where did you run off to?"  
  
Naruto shrugged and grinned, "Here and there? Why?"  
  
Sakura sighed, "Naruto, you can't hide things from us, you know that."  
  
Sasuke nodded briskly, "Yeah, we are snoopy and enjoy prying into our friends lives."  
  
Naruto chuckled and nodded, "You guys are funny." Then he crossed his arms, "I went to Konohamaru's house."  
  
Sakura frowned, "Is he ok?"  
  
Naruto shrugged, "He is still upset. But he will be fine."  
  
Sakura looked up, "Did he mention anything about who did it?"  
  
Naruto shook his head, "He didn't want to talk about it much, and I know not to push him. He'll come and talk when he's ready."  
  
Sasuke fumed a bit, "Those ladies were so insensitive. I can't believe they said that."  
  
Naruto laughed. "You're so funny when you do that." (A/n: I thought it was funny too.)  
  
"Do what?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.  
  
Naruto shrugged, "I really don't know, but that just made me laugh."  
  
"Whatever." Sasuke's eyebrow twitched. "Anyways, how are you?"  
  
Naruto smiled, "I'm ok."  
  
Sasuke looked into Naruto's eyes, "Liar."  
  
Sakura's brow furrowed, "I wouldn't be too surprised if you weren't ok. I mean, after what you went through, and then now Konohamaru."  
  
A few tears formed in Naruto's eyes. "I-I'll be fine."  
  
Sasuke looked over at Sakura with a glint of an idea in his eyes. She sneered back at him and nodded. They both went to either side of him and looped his arms into theirs.  
"Eh?" Naruto was surprised. "What-"  
  
"Let's have a sleep over party!" Sakura said.  
  
Naruto's brow furrowed in mild annoyance, "A party?"  
  
They tugged on Naruto's arms, making him walk and Sasuke said "We don't like seeing you upset. We just want to see you smile."  
  
Naruto looked down and smiled, "Thank you."  
  
They headed off to Naruto's apartment arm-in-arm.  
  
...............  
  
Konohamaru sighed and looked in the mirror. His brown hair, which is normally up, was now down, reaching to his jaw line. His dark eyes, even darker in the shadow of his hair were staring back. *You're weak.* He thought to himself, *Why didn't you just kick him? Or do some kinda jutsu? You don't deserve the name Konohamaru.*  
  
He grabbed his kunai pouch and walked to the window. He wrapped the pouch around his leg, and then opened the window. *Not here.*  
  
He leaped out and landed gracefully on the ground 2-stories down. He ran in the direction of the forest. He felt tears sting his eyes as he ran, *You don't deserve that name, the title 'gennin', to live in such a nice town, with such nice people.*  
  
"I didn't get fuck all when it happened to me. Come talk to me, if you want."  
  
Those words passed through his mind. *Naruto.* He slowed down and stopped. "Naruto." He mumbled softly. He turned around and headed to Naruto's apartment.  
  
.....  
  
"Ok, Naruto! We'll be right back!" Sakura called out as she and Sasuke left to go and get their stuff for the night.  
  
"Yeah! See you guys in a bit!" Naruto called back, then closed the door and leaned against it and smiled. *Ah, I love those two* he thought happily, then went to go and clean up a bit to make room for the two of them.  
  
*I wonder what I should make for supper?* he thought as he picked up some clothes and tossed them into a basket.  
  
Suddenly he heard a knocking.  
  
"Nii-san!" a familiar voice called.  
  
*Konohamaru?* He thought. *He hasn't called me 'Nii-san' in forever.* he went to the door and opened it.  
  
He felt a body slam into him. "Nii-san!" Konohamaru cried then began to sob.  
  
Naruto was unsure of what to do, then smiled sadly and rested a hand on his head and closed the door.  
  
Konohamaru sobbed harder and started to talk in between sobs. "It was terrible! It hurt! I am so weak! I can't stand it!"  
  
"Shh" Naruto hugged the younger boy. "It's ok, I understand." Then he picked him up and carried him to the sofa and sat him down. He sat next to him.  
  
Konohamaru wiped his eyes, "I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier."  
  
Naruto smiled, "Eh, don't worry about it." He rested a hand on his shoulder, "You wanna talk about it now?"  
  
Konohamaru sniffled, "Not about IT, but more about after it. What did you do to cope?"  
  
Naruto sighed and thought. He remembered how Sasuke and Iruka talked to him. How those close to him seemed to know and cared. And especially how he and Sasuke killed the bastards.  
  
"Well, my friends helped me through it, actually. They talked to me, and just showed that they cared. Also, it seems that they attacked me and my friends one day and we slaughtered them. I don't know if that works for everyone though." Naruto explained.  
  
Konohamaru laughed softly. "I don't know about the killing part, but I'm sure I can look to my friends." Konohamaru smiled, and then frowned, "You are my friend right?"  
  
Naruto smiled and put an arm around Konohamaru's shoulders and leaned his head against his. "Of course, Konohamaru."  
  
Konohamaru felt some tears in his eyes. "I felt so weak. I wanted to kill myself."  
  
Naruto tightened his grip.  
  
"But then I thought about you. And decided to come and talk to you." Konohamaru said softly.  
  
"You're not weak, Konohamaru. Even the strong can be taken advantage of." Naruto rubbed Konohamaru's shoulder, "I was 12 when it happened to me. Do you remember me then? Was I weak?"  
  
Konohamaru shook his head, "No." then he wrapped his arms around Naruto's torso. "Thank you, nii-san."  
  
............  
  
Sasuke and Sakura were walking back to Naruto's apartment, talking and laughing.  
  
"So, Sakura, Who was it this time?" Sasuke asked.  
  
Sakura looked puzzled, "What do you mean?"  
  
Sasuke smirked, "Earlier, you were mad about Ino asking some guy out. Who?"  
  
Sakura blushed and chuckled nervously, "I.never mind."  
  
Sasuke grinned then struck a dramatic pose, "Oh, Sakura, my love! I must know who hath stolen your heart away from me! Oh the sor-"  
  
"Lee" she said, shutting him up.  
  
"Lee?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "Did he say yes to her?"  
  
Sakura sighed, "I dunno, But how could he not? I mean she-"  
  
"Sakura, you know he likes you!" Sasuke said heatedly, "He likes you a lot! I don't think he said yes to her!"  
  
She thought for a moment then smiled. "You really think so?"  
  
Sasuke nodded, "I am absolutely sure."  
  
"Thank you" Sakura smiled. "Hey, Sasuke. Do you like anyone?"  
  
Sasuke thought for a moment. "Hm, not in the sense you mean."  
  
Sakura chuckled, "Don't tell me you've never thought of anyone like that."  
  
Sasuke shrugged. "I haven't, really."  
  
Sakura looked down and pointed to Sasukes crotch "Does this thing work?"  
  
Sasuke blushed slightly and chuckled, "Yes."  
  
"Oh, really?" Sakura thought, "Then maybe you are setting your standards too high. You know, you aren't THAT great."  
  
Sasuke frowned, "It's not that either."  
  
Sakura thought some more, "Oh oh! Lemme guess! 'I cannot think about love. I must go and kill my brother.' Is that it?"  
  
Sasuke stopped. "Kill." then he laughed, "You know, I really haven't thought of that for awhile."  
  
Sakura glared at Sasuke. "Who do you like?"  
  
Sasuke blushed, "A secret." And he pressed a finger to his lips.  
  
"Oh, c'mon Sasuke! I told you I like Lee!" Sakura cried.  
  
"It's not that important, is it?" Sasuke said as they reached Narutos apartment.  
  
They opened the door, not bothering to knock. They saw the top of Naruto's head at the couch. And they got an idea.  
  
They snuck up, but stopped when they heard the light sobbing.  
  
"Naruto?" Sasuke mumbled.  
  
Naruto looked over the top of the couch and smiled. Konohamaru poked his head up.  
  
"Hey guys!" Naruto chimed happily.  
  
Konohamaru smiled, "Hey!" he got up and went to the door. "I'm gonna go now. I'll talk to you tomorrow, 'kay nii-san?"  
  
Naruto nodded, "Yeah! Promise!"  
  
Konohamaru put his sandals on and nodded, "I promise." Then he went out the door.  
  
Naruto smiled after him, and then got up and glared at Sasuke and Sakura, "You scared him off!"  
  
Sakura chuckled. "Yes, we are scary demons."  
  
Sasuke clawed his fingers and curled a lip up, "Demons that eat little children." And he snarled and lunged at Naruto, attempting to tackle him.  
  
But Naruto wouldn't be toppled that easily, so Naruto ended up being hugged instead. "Hey, Sasuke. Stop hugging me." He said trying to imitate Sasukes irritated tone.  
  
Sasuke chuckled, "Aw! But you hug me all the time!"  
  
Sakura bit her lip stifling some laughter. "I see." Then she set her bag down on the couch and sat next to it.  
  
Naruto gave her a puzzled look. "What do you see?"  
  
She grinned, "Nothing. Nothing at all."  
  
Both boys were confused, but they shrugged it off.  
  
"Anyways, what would you guys like for supper?" Naruto asked.  
  
"Food." Sasuke said.  
  
Naruto rolled his eyes, "No shit. I was thinking of serving you Styrofoam."  
  
Sakura chuckled, "It doesn't matter what you serve us, and we'll eat anything you make. You always make good food."  
  
Naruto smiled at the compliment. "True true." He said very immodestly.  
  
Sasuke sighed. He had to admit, Naruto was a helluva good cook. *Not only is he strong, caring, funny, sweet, and good looking; he's also a great cook.* then Sasuke paused mentally. *Wait a second.-*  
  
"Saaaasukeeeee" Naruto called.  
  
Sasuke blinked, "What?"  
  
Naruto grinned, "I said, does spaghetti sound good?"  
  
Sasuke smiled, "Yeah. Yeah it does."  
  
Naruto grinned, "Good, because it's easy to make." Then he walked to the kitchen.  
  
"Easy or not, we wouldn't be able to tell. It always tastes like a days work went into it." Sasuke mumbled.  
  
Naruto smiled to himself. He could hear Sasukes compliment since his hearing was more acute than most. *He wouldn't have said that a couple of years ago. It's amazing we became friends. We used to hate each other.* Then he went about making supper.  
  
.......  
  
Sakura leaned back in her chair. "Woo! I'm stuffed!"  
  
Sasuke dished up another serving of spaghetti. "It's delicious!"  
  
Naruto grinned, "Glad you guys like it!" and he also dished up another serving.  
  
Sakura was used to the boys' eating habits. But she still finds it interesting that they can eat so much. Even at this particular meal, Sakura just finished a single serving, while they were on their third. And not only that, they always eat about this much at meals. It was really amazing that they weren't fat.  
  
Sakura sighed, *Well, they are growing boys. I guess their metabolism has kicked in.*  
  
Naruto and Sasuke set their dishes down at the same time, both finishing their meals completely. "Gouchisousama" all three of them said.  
  
Naruto got up and picked up his guests dishes and carried them to the kitchen. Sasuke and Sakura decided to help. Sasuke grabbed the left over food (amazing that there was some) and Sakura grabbed the glasses and utensils.  
  
Naruto looked up at them when they entered the kitchen, "Hey, thanks!" he said.  
  
Sakura went to help Naruto with the dishes while Sasuke packed away the leftovers, then he claimed duty of putting away the dishes.  
  
"Hey, Sasuke." Naruto said while drying a plate and handing to Sasuke, "Wasn't I supposed to help you with-"  
  
"Don't worry about it, we can do it tomorrow." Sasuke smiled.  
  
Sakura giggled while she cleaned a glass.  
  
The boys looked at her confused again. "What?"  
  
She chuckled some more, "Sorry, sorry, my mind is in the gutter right now."  
  
Naruto and Sasuke thought for a moment, and then both blushed at the double meaning of "we can do it tomorrow."  
  
Sasuke sighed, and decided that admitting that asking for help was better than people thinking you were queer. "Naruto was going to train me."  
  
Sakura giggled some more. "What ~kind~ of training?"  
  
Sasuke rubbed his temples, he really didn't like how everyone seemed to like to tease him, "Chakra hiding, Sakura. Now, get your mind out of the gutter."  
  
Sakura sighed, "Fine, fine. Hope you guys have fun tomorrow."  
  
They continued cleaning the rest of the dishes in silence. ......  
  
Konohamaru sighed while watching the sky outside his window. He heard his door open behind him.  
  
"Konohamaru." He heard his father speak.  
  
Konohamaru grunted, "Yeah?"  
  
"Did you go and see that brat today?" his father asked.  
  
Konohamaru turned around and crossed his arms. He was sick of his fathers' strict rules concerning Naruto, and almost everything else for that matter. He didn't like how his dad sheltered him from pretty much everything. No dating, must be home by certain times, train, train some more, no wandering out alone - well not anymore, none of that loud music - "It has a negative affect on kids these days, 13-A movies are certainly out of the question - though he has seen worse at the academy; it was a ninja school - he's probably DONE worse than the violent movies.  
  
And if his father wasn't around, then his nanny or tutor was hanging around. Though his father was "trying to respect his privacy", he never gave him time alone.  
  
But, to Konohamaru, the worst rule so far was "No Naruto". Naruto was not only his closest friend, but his role-model. And now he was also someone he could relate to, someone he could talk to. Definitely someone he cared about and someone that cared about him.  
  
And, unlike other people, Naruto didn't see Konohamaru as "The honored grandson of the late third Hokage". Naruto saw Konohamaru as just Konohamaru, as an equal. Something Konohamaru enjoyed. And he was sick of how his father treated him; he decided to stand up for himself.  
  
Konohamaru gulped, "If you mean Naruto, then yes. I went and saw him today."  
  
His father sighed and swallowed his annoyance, "Konohamaru, what have I told you?"  
  
Konohamaru frowned, "I don't care what you say, if I want to see Naruto, I should be allowed to."  
  
"Oh, you think that, huh?" His dad clenched his fists, "I set up those rules to protect you, and any loving parent would. Also, rules or not, every parent doesn't want their kids hanging around him."  
  
"Why? What's so wrong with him?" Konohamaru shouted. "Naruto is my friend!"  
  
His father trembled. "You've become quite the delinquent, Konohamaru. Is this his influence? Did he tell you to do this? To go against your parents?"  
  
Konohamaru felt tears form in his eyes. "No. Naruto taught me to be brave, and taught me to stand up for myself! Also to work hard!"  
  
His father shook his head, "Is disobeying your parent's called bravery? If so, maybe we should give you a medal! Tell the whole town about your 'brave deeds'!"  
  
Konohamaru felt his tears spill over and down his cheeks. He hated fighting with his father.  
  
"Oh? You're crying? I wouldn't call this bravery; you are just being a sissy. See? That Naruto has done no good to you!" His father shouted.  
  
"Shut up!" Konohamaru shouted.  
  
His father punched him, "Don't tell me what to do!"  
  
Konohamaru stumbled backwards and grabbed his cheek. He glared at his father, "Same goes to you" he growled, then went to the window and leapt out and ran.  
  
"Fine! Go! Don't come back, you ungrateful little brat!" his father shouted after him.  
  
........  
  
Baka: Wow, o.o most intense.  
  
Inner Baka: Yes, very. But, I think the drama is rather good.  
  
Baka: Yeah. But, POOR KONOHAMARU!  
  
IB: Aw.*gives Baka a cookie*  
  
Baka: OOO! Cookie! *is happy again*  
  
IB: :D So simple minded, you are.  
  
Baka: Nyao! ^_^ 


	4. Chapter 4

Baka: Heh, heh heh! I'm not late. No siree-bob! Not at all! Heh heh.  
  
Inner Baka: Baka.  
  
Baka: Heh heh heh! SORRY! *runs and hides*  
  
IB: Don't worry, Baka was having a slow, lazy, hectic time. And it won't happen again. Chapter 5 will be here a lot faster than chapter 4.  
  
Baka: *peeks out from hiding spot* Yeah! I promise! Please, but the guns away!  
  
IB: Also, it has been decided that Japanese words won't be used in the stories anymore. The only times that Japanese words will be used is if they have some kind of special meaning, titles, and names. Like, Hokage, Konoha, Chuunin, -Sama, -Chan, -San, sensei, etc.  
  
But, things that I've used in the past, like "Aa" or "Sumimasen" or "Uso!" or "Arigato" won't be used, even if lots of people already know them.  
  
Another thing, Baka doesn't want to respond to every review she gets, so she'll just list your names, and comment on things the NEED comments. She doesn't want to continually type, "Heh, thanks!" all the time.  
  
Oh yeah, and expect Baka to update every week (max = a week and a half), for she has other projects, like a comic she is starting, and homework, and things.  
  
Review Response:  
  
Well, I had quite a few reviews, so, like, kudos to WuffieLuver, Wind Wanderer, Bishiehuggler, :D, Sadistic Demon, Babo, hiro-souma, Red Rose, carrot stix, Japime Gurl, Foxgrl, firedraygon97!  
  
Baka: I've decided to really add some relationship building and some major realizations. I think I've done the little things long enough, and I really should speed it up a bit.  
  
Inner Baka: Yeah, it was moving rather slow. Also, chapter 4 sucks so far, revise it!  
  
Baka: I was about to!  
  
IB: Are you being, god forbid, work-ish?  
  
Baka: I am in a school environment. How can I NOT be?!  
  
IB: Ah, I see I see good point.  
  
.....  
  
Disclaimer: Baka does not own Naruto or anything related to Naruto.  
  
....  
  
Konohamaru walked slowly up one of the residential streets of Konoha village. The sun was setting and it was near autumn. The sweet scent of foliage filled the air of the small forest town. But it meant a lot of work to most of its residents if they did not want leaves all over the place. But most of the folk did not mind the little extra work, and most of them appreciated the warm reds and browns of the upcoming season.  
  
He looked up at the sky, a deep orange spread far. *I love sunsets* he kicked a little rock. * I also love fall in Konoha. And winter, and spring, and summer. I love the people. I love everything.*  
  
He caught up to the kicked rock and kicked it again. *But.* he sighed as he reached the town limit. *But, I just might say bye to it all.*  
  
A little song bird perched on a tree branch and looked down at Konohamaru. *I'm sure they'd miss me. I'd miss them too. Bit I can't stand it anymore.* He felt like screaming. *How they all talk about me. How I can't keep a secret safe from them. How I can't do anything that might hurt my family's reputation.*  
  
He picked up the rock as he reached it again and looked at the bird. *I especially can't stand how they don't see me as me, only as the honored grandson of the late third Hokage.*  
  
He aimed at the bird then threw the rock and hit it on the head, knocking it unconscious. *I really don't care anymore.* he though wearily and headed further out of town.  
  
.........  
  
Naruto walked into the dark room and sat in between Sasuke and Sakura. He set the large bowl of popcorn on his lap and used his foot to push a video into the VCR.  
  
"Is this a good movie?" Sasuke asked as he reached for some popcorn.  
  
Naruto nodded, "VERY good!"  
  
Sakura rolled her eyes, "What's it about?"  
  
Naruto grinned, "Some guys from a foreign country go to this other country and try to take over, BUT this martial arts guy comes in and kicks everyone's asses!"  
  
Naruto grinned even more, if it was possible, "Two whole hours!"  
  
Sasuke cheered, "Sounds awesome!"  
  
Sakura hung her head, "It sounds stupid."  
  
Naruto laughed at Sakura's comment, and then quieted as the beginning music began to play.  
  
Despite her earlier remark, Sakura really got into the movie. Sasuke also seemed to be enjoying himself. He seemed to eat the popcorn more intensely during the fight scenes.  
  
As Naruto went to grab some popcorn, his hand brushed Sasukes. Naruto thought nothing of it, but Sasukes hand twitched at the contact and he looked over at Naruto.  
  
*He looks so happy. Like today's event's never happened.* Sasukes hand lingered in the bowl, he admired how strong Naruto seemed, though he knew that Naruto was actually rather fragile.  
  
Naruto went to grab some more popcorn and noticed Sasukes hand hadn't moved since last time. He looked over at Sasuke, "What?"  
  
Sasuke blinked, "Huh? Oh.nothing." He turned back to the T.V. and pulled his hand away, a slight blush creeping up on him. *Damn, I was staring at him.*  
  
Naruto shrugged and popped some popcorn into his mouth. "Movies good, eh?"  
  
Sasuke nodded slightly, "Yeah."  
  
Naruto looked at him from the corner of his eye, "Doesn't sound like you're enjoying it."  
  
Sasuke gave him a half grin, "Just pre-occupied is all."  
  
"Hmm, I see." Naruto sighed.  
  
"Would you guys be quiet?" Sakura hissed at them, "I'm trying to watch the movie."  
  
Naruto chuckled, "Knew you'd like it."  
  
Sakura punched Naruto's shoulder playfully, "Shuddup."  
  
Naruto shut up and let Sakura watch the movie. He looked over at Sasuke, *It looks like he's enjoying it too. He has a nice smile. He should smile more often. It's so cute.*  
  
Sasuke felt Naruto's eyes on him. *Why's he looking at me?* he thought nervously and glanced at Naruto. *Please stop staring please stop staring please stop staring.*  
  
Sakura got up. "I have to go to the bathroom."  
  
"Ok" Naruto paused the movie.  
  
Sakura left the room leaving the two boys alone. Sasuke quickly grabbed a handful of popcorn.  
  
"Like the popcorn?" Naruto asked, trying to make small talk since some tension built between them the past few minutes.  
  
Sasuke nodded, "Yeah. It's pretty good."  
  
They both reached into the bowl and brushed hands. It finally annoyed Naruto. "Hey, Sasuke."  
  
Sasuke looked up and had a slight pink in his cheeks. "Hm?"  
  
"Have you ever..." Naruto started, but stopped, not entirely sure of what to ask.  
  
Sasuke blinked, "Have I ever what?"  
  
Naruto sighed, "I dunno. I'm just trying to make small talk."  
  
Sasuke shrugged. "I see." He stretched and asked, "How are you?"  
  
"Ah, ok. The movie is a good distraction." Naruto looked at the still figures on the screen.  
  
"What do you mean?" Sasuke scratched his head.  
  
The blonde looked up at the ceiling. "I mean, I have a lot on my mind tonight."  
  
Sasukes dark eyes focused on Naruto, "Want to talk about it?  
  
A toilet flushed in the background, "Maybe later." Naruto mumbled as Sakura entered the room.  
  
...  
  
Konohamaru sat up on a tree branch drawing. Usually when he was upset, he took it out on paper. Though it was harder to see, Konohamaru's eyes adjusted to the moons pale light.  
  
Konohamaru felt a presence. He tensed up and reached for a kunai. He focused on the area he felt the presence. After about half a minute he saw a child walk out of the forest. She was carrying a basket of berries. She seemed quite preoccupied with the path ahead and did not even notice Konohamaru in the tree.  
  
Konohamaru relaxed and looked back at his drawing. The picture was not nice, but it made him feel better. He certainly would never do any of the things that the picture showed.  
  
The one that he was currently working on was a familiar Konoha village street with bodies strewn all over and mutilated. Some familiar people even his father. It looked serene and morbid at the same time.  
  
Though at times he wished they would all go away, he would never hurt them. He loved them all the same, though he did get annoyed with them at times.  
  
Suddenly he felt a hand and cloth over his mouth. He sort of recognized the scent, but didn't have a lot of time to figure it out. He felt his body go weak and every thing went black.  
  
.....  
  
Naruto pulled his t-shirt off and reached for his pajama top. He yawned suddenly, throwing him off balance and he fell onto his bed and sighed.  
  
Sasuke chuckled at Narutos antics. *He's so cute* Sasuke blushed at the thought, *Not cute as in, like, CUTE, but certainly cute as in, like, cuteness. Yeah, that's right.* (a/n: what? I think only he can understand his own thoughts)  
  
Naruto smiled over at Sasuke. "Are you sure you're ok on the floor?"  
  
Sasuke nodded and sat beside Naruto. "I'll be fine."  
  
The blonde boy rolled onto his back and put his hands behind his head. He studied Sasuke. His eyes traced the contours of his face, taking in all the little things that he normally did not see. Like the fact that Sasuke shaves, and shaves very well. *He's growing facial hair sooner than I am.I will destroy him.* He cocked his head to the side and pondered facial hair and how to destroy Sasuke in a fun and playful way.  
  
Sasuke turned his head towards Naruto some more, wondering why he was staring. "What?"  
  
Naruto continued looking at Sasuke, now focusing on his eyes. *They are so dark. Is it really possible to have such dark eyes?* He then focused on his hair, the dark mass falling to each side of his face, brushing his cheeks every so often. His cheeks were so soft looking. He sat up and studied him more appreciatively.  
  
Sasuke blinked in confusion. "Please, stop it."  
  
Naruto reached a hand up and touched Sasukes cheek, smiling softly. His tan fingers brushing against the ivory colored skin gently taking in the smooth texture. He moved his hand closer when he felt the other pull back slightly.  
  
The dark haired boys' eyebrows furrowed and he asked, "What are you do-"  
  
Two tan fingers brushed his lip in a silencing gesture. "Shh." the sound was soft and barely above a whisper. The two fingers traced the sensitive skin under them.  
  
Sasukes upper lip twitched. "S-stop it, that tickles."  
  
Naruto blinked, and then blushed. "U-uh. Sorry." He brought his hands back. "I don't know what got into me."  
  
Sasuke looked over at his smaller friend and smiled. "It's alright." He rested a hand on his friends shoulder. "You mentioned something being on your mind earlier, what was it?"  
  
Naruto ran a hand through his hair and sighed wearily. "I-I don't know. I guess I'm just worried about Konohamaru, is all."  
  
Sasuke frowned, "I'm sure he's ok." He put an arm around his friends' shoulders. "He's strong, you know that."  
  
Naruto leaned his head on Sasukes shoulder, taking in the warmth. "I know, but, even the strong can be taken down."  
  
Sasuke thought for a moment then rested his head on the blondes, "Hm, yeah. You were brought down, and it sure took quite a bit of work to get you back up."  
  
The smaller boy clutched at the blue t-shirt under his head and trembled a bit. "He's not ok, no matter how strong he is, he can't just suddenly be ok."  
  
Sasuke felt the distress in the boy on his shoulder; he rubbed Naruto's back, trying to calm him. "Sorry. I should know better to bring it up."  
  
Naruto sat up and smiled, "I-it's ok. I'm just worried about how Konohamaru must feel."  
  
Sasuke smiled back, "You're strong. Damn it." He felt some tears in his eyes. "I mean, I know it was a few years ago, but after that I think I'd still be hurting."  
  
Naruto looked down and sighed. "Can I tell you something?"  
  
Sasuke blinked, "Of course, we're best friends."  
  
Naruto stood up, "Good." He paced to the other side of the room. "I- ah. I still have nightmares, and day-mares." He bit his bottom lip softly and turned around to face Sasuke with wet eyes. "All you know about is those two times. But-"  
  
Sasuke raised a hand to his mouth in silent horror. *Oh God. Please. No more. No.*  
  
"But, in all reality." Naruto continued as some tears ran down his cheeks. "For several months after- uhm- more members of their gang" He stopped as a sob escaped his throat.  
  
Sasuke stood and wrapped his arms around his friend. "N-Naruto. Why?" he felt himself crying too. "Why didn't you say anything?"  
  
Naruto sniffled and clutched Sasukes shirt. "I was scared. And too embarrassed." He sobbed a bit harder.  
  
"Naruto" Sasuke ran his hands up his back and into his hair. "Naruto. Don't be embarrassed, Naruto." He nuzzled his face into his shoulder. "I love you."  
  
...  
  
Baka: You hate me now, don't you?  
  
Inner Baka: Oh yes. I do. Muchly.  
  
Baka: Hee hee, oh, how terrible. I left you hanging.  
  
IB: You are gonna die. ^_^  
  
Baka: YAY! 


	5. Chapter 5

Baka: Ok! My Beta readers loved this chapter. They said I was well done! ^_^ SO I am happy.  
  
Inner baka: Well, it's good indeed.  
  
Baka: ^_^  
  
Inner Baka: Uhm, I guess this chapter includes spoilers, that is if you don't know what happens to the 3rd hokage and everything else.  
  
Baka: IF YOU DON'T KNOW GO AND READ THE MANGA NOW!  
  
IB: Yes, do so.  
  
......  
  
Reviews:  
  
Zsych: Sorry, forgot to add a warning. Gomen, though it won't be heavy. Sasuke getting rescued is only a hope. It's a "What if." ya know?  
  
To others: Did you read my other story "After the Break?" Please, do take note, this is a sequel to those events.  
  
Kudos to Red Rose, SedaiDragon, Pinky-cat (I hate you too! *shakes fist* ^_^), Wuffieluver, Zsych, Firedraygon97, :D, Fire Pheonix1, and to anyone I missed, sorry.  
  
........  
  
Baka: Lookie! I made this chapter a lot faster than the other one!  
  
Inner Baka: Indeed you did.  
  
Baka: This chapter was kinda fun to do. I had fun writing it.  
  
IB: Twisted bitch, aren't you?  
  
Baka: Twisted?  
  
IB: Well, ok, I guess there is some humor later, but there is also a lot of serious talk too. Was that fun?  
  
Baka: Well, shuddup!  
  
....  
  
Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, label me a Ninja master.  
  
.......  
  
Naruto stopped crying and thought. *Did he say he loves me?* Naruto tensed up. "S-Sasuke?"  
  
Sasuke just frowned into Naruto's shoulder. "I."  
  
Naruto let go of Sasuke, unsure of what to think or do. He looked up into Sasukes face and saw his cheeks were red. *He means it too, but, what do I say? Do I love him? I don't, do I?* He pushed away gently and went to his bed. "Good night, Sasuke." And he lay down and pulled the blankets over him.  
  
Sasuke looked over at Naruto then turned off the lights and got comfortable on the floor. *Damn it, he's probably thinking about what a freak I am. Why did I say that? Geez, he has enough to worry about without me fawning over him.*  
  
He listened and heard Naruto's breathing change as he fell asleep.  
  
......  
  
A dark cloaked figure stood outside Hokage's office. The person raised a hand and knocked.  
  
"Come in!" a tired female voice called through the door.  
  
The door opened and the dark person bowed, "Sorry for the intrusion." His voice was large and seemed rather fitting to his appearance.  
  
The blonde, large-bosomed woman waved a hand as if to dismiss his formality. "No no, don't worry about it. Anyways, you don't seem familiar, not from around here? What's your business?"  
  
The man hesitated, and then answered, "Oh, I'm currently residing in the Water Country. I am part of a wealthy family, and there are some clan rivals that are after my wealth. And uh."  
  
The Hokage looked at him, "You want an escort home?"  
  
The man nodded under his cloak, "Yes." He stepped closer and bowed gently, "Sorry for the intrusion, Hokage-sama." (a/n: sama is a formal title.)  
  
The Hokage blinked then chuckled, "Ah, enough of the formality, just call me Tsunade." She looked through her files, "Are the people after you dangerous?"  
  
The man sighed, "Ah, dangerous enough. A chuunin level team should suffice."  
  
"Chuunin?" Tsunade blinked and shuffled through some more papers, "Who exactly is after you?"  
  
The man made some thinking sounds, "Well, just rival clans, but some have trained ninja working for them. But, I have a request."  
  
Tsunade looked up, "A request? What request?"  
  
"I want the team close to each other, and rather young. If they are close, they will understand each other; also, young people are quicker and are usually smaller."  
  
Tsunade nodded, "Also, attackers will look at them and think they are just kids." She closed the folder in front of her, "Well, I have the perfect team for you. They are young, they are best friends, and they used to train together all the time. They also don't look too strong. But everyone who's underestimated them and got in their way, ended up being beat."  
  
The man nodded, "Well, I need them tomorrow, is that possible?"  
  
Tsunade nodded, "By the after noon. Come back here at one and everything should be set."  
  
The man bowed slightly, "Thank you very much." He left the room quickly.  
  
....   
  
Konohamaru opened his eyes, he felt dizzy. As he sat up, he felt his hands and feet bound. After his eyes adjusted, he spotted chains cuffed to his wrists and ankles. "Where am I?" he mumbled and looked around.  
  
The walls and ground were stone, and there was a leak dripping from the ceiling. He spotted a man in the corner sitting in a chair looking at something.  
  
The mans green eyes moved from the page to Konohamaru. "You're awake."  
  
"No shit" Konohamaru muttered. "Who are you? And what do you want from me?"  
  
The man looked at the page again, "These are some nice drawings you got here, and I especially like that last one."  
  
Konohamaru raised an eyebrow, "You didn't kidnap me for my drawings, did you?"  
  
The man laughed, "You are funny. Even in such a situation, you still can crack a joke."  
  
"I've been in worse." The boy growled.  
  
"I know you have" the man grinned, "I'm sure my associates had fun with you."  
  
Konohamaru blinked, "What? You mean."  
  
The man chuckled and ran a hand through his black hair. "Yes. Actually, I'm their boss."  
  
Konohamaru choked on some air, "B-boss?! You mean, you are the one that told them to-to-t-"  
  
A booming laugh filled the small cellar, "Not necessarily. I, personally, would never do that to someone. Which is why I send people to do the initial tasks, after the initial tasks, they bring the broken captive here. And then comes part B of this plan."  
  
"P-part B? What? What is it you want from me?" the boy stuttered out.  
  
"From you? From YOU?" the man laughed as if the kid told a funny joke. "Don't kid yourself, boy. It's not YOU I want. Oh no. It's who is going to come after you that I want."  
  
Konohamaru looked down and held back some tears, "Who? Who do you want? I'm sure whoever it is, is going to hate you after all this."  
  
A sly grin spread across the mans handsome features, "You'll find out who soon enough. We tried to get him a few years back, but failed. This time, everything is going to plan." A slight chuckle erupted from his throat, "As for hating me, that's what I'm hoping for."  
  
Konohamaru was confused. "That makes no sense! You are trying to get someone over here that hates you? They'd try to kill you!"  
  
"Yes, at first he will try, but he won't be able to. But, I don't feel like getting into all the details right now." He looked back down at the papers in his lap, "I really do like these."  
  
Konohamaru grunted, "How will they even know where to find me?"  
  
"Oh, I have it all worked out, don't worry. They should be here in a couple of days. So, why don't you rest." He clicked his tongue. "Man, I wish I had your skill."  
  
"Rest? Heh, yeah right. One more question." He glared over at his captor. "Let's say your plan succeeds, am I free to go?"  
  
"Of course." He smiled, "I don't care who you tell about all this, either." He stood up and set the drawings on the chair. "That must puzzle you, eh? Ah, whatever." And he walked to the door. "I'll be back later."  
  
......  
  
Naruto opened his eyes and squinted at the sun light coming in through his window. He lay there for a few moments until he adjusted to being awake and tossed his legs over the bed. He stood and yawned while walking to his door. His foot caught on something rather large and he tripped.  
  
"AH!" a startled voice yelled out from under Naruto. "That hurt, dobe!" (a/n: dobe is a special word, it means idiot, and I refuse to translate it)  
  
Naruto blinked, "Huh? OH RIGHT! I forgot you guys were here! Heh!"  
  
Sasuke sat up and glared into Naruto's blue eyes, "Not a pleasant way of waking up, I must say."  
  
The blonde pondered and remembered last nights events, "Hm, sorry. But, I thought you'd enjoy waking up to me sprawled all over you." And he grinned playfully and wiggled his eyebrows.  
  
Sasuke glared some more, but now with a slight blush on his cheeks, "You just HAD to bring that up, hey?!"  
  
Naruto chuckled and dodged a pillow that Sasuke threw at him. "Anyways, I'm going to go and shower, when I'm done you and Sakura take turns while I make breakfast, 'kay?"  
  
Sasuke sighed and nodded as Naruto left the room. *I don't ACTUALLY love him, do I?* Sasuke grumbled as he got up and stretched, "Nope. I don't!" he picked the blanket up and started folding it. *I was worried, that's all. Really worried. He is my best friend, and I guess sometimes that when I get really worried about him, I guess maybe I mix up my feelings.* he set the folded blanket on the floor beside the bed. "That's right."  
  
He looked at Naruto's bed, and decided it would be nice to make it for him. So he did just that. "He's only a friend. And I'm good with that. I DON'T love him. Nope." He then picked up the folded blanket and set it on the end of the now made bed.  
  
"He'll understand if I explain it to him." He picked up his bag and dug around and grabbed a clean shirt and a pair of black jeans. He heard the water get turned off in the bathroom.  
  
"Only a friend." He said as he left the bedroom. He looked around the living room and spotted a still sleeping Sakura on the couch. "Just like Sakura."  
  
He walked over and poked her. "Wake up." After minimal response from the sleeping girl he sighed then grabbed her shoulders and shook, hard. "WAKE UP!"  
  
She woke up and yelled, "I'M UP I'M UP STOP SHAKING ME!"  
  
Sasuke chuckled, "Good. Anyways, Naruto's almost done in the bath room, I'll use it after him, and then you can, since I know you take the longest."  
  
She nodded and glared at Sasuke, still upset about being shaken so hard. "Never do that again, unless you have a death wish."  
  
He smiled at her and was about to say a witty remark when he noticed how serious she was. "O-ok."  
  
Naruto burst out of the bathroom in just his towel, "THAT WAS SO REFRESHING!" and he walked towards Sasuke and Sakura then grinned evilly. "Hee hee" he shook his head really fast, spraying them with his wet hair.  
  
They blinked then looked at each other, and seemed to relay another telepathic idea.  
  
Sakura tackled Naruto and had him fall back-first onto her while she held him down. "Sasuke, now!"  
  
Sasuke lunged at his fallen buddy and attacked him with a barrage of tickles, "MWA HA HA HA HA HA! Sweet revenge!"  
  
Naruto laughed and choked on some air, "St-stop it! Now! Or I won't make any breakfast."  
  
The tickling immediately ceased. "You're no fun." Sasuke muttered.  
  
The blonde boy's eyebrow twitched, "YOU are saying that I am no fun?"  
  
Sasuke smirked, "Anyways, I'm going to go and use the bathroom now."  
  
"'Kay" Naruto said while getting up. "I'll go start breakfast."  
  
.......  
  
Umino Iruka walked steadily down the familiar streets of Konoha, heading to his destination: Naruto's Apartment. He was given a message to relay to him, Sasuke, and Sakura. And they were all last seen with Naruto.  
  
"Ah, I haven't talked to Naruto in a while." Iruka said to himself as he walked down a commercial street. "Hm, maybe after whatever Hokage wants him to do, I'll treat him to some ramen for old time's sake."  
  
As if by coincidence, Ichiraku Ramen was right up ahead. Iruka was flooded with memories of him and his favorite student eating there.  
  
*Yeah, I'll for sure ask him to.* He thought happily as he continued his trek.  
  
It was a short while till Iruka got to Naruto's apartment. He walked up the stairs while humming a little tune and went to the door with the name "Uzumaki" on it. He knocked and called, "Important Message to a Mr. Uzumaki Naruto!"  
  
He listened and heard some chuckling and some dishes being moved. "Coming" a voice called. Finally the foot steps were right at the door and it opened.  
  
"Hi." Iruka smiled the fell back as the teenaged boy threw himself at him.  
  
"Iruka sensei!" Naruto yelled happily.  
  
Iruka pushed Naruto off of him. "I think you're a little too big to do that."  
  
Naruto rubbed the back of his head bashfully, "Sorry. Anyways, you said you have an important message."  
  
Iruka nodded, "Hokage wants you, Sasuke and Sakura to meet her at noon in her office."  
  
Naruto nodded. "Understood, now" Naruto crossed his arms, "How about some breakfast. I made lots."  
  
Iruka chuckled, "Sure sure."  
  
Naruto led his former sensei into the apartment and shut the door.  
  
.......  
  
Baka: You want more, I know you do.  
  
Inner Baka: Yes. Yes we do.  
  
Baka: Urg, I don't want to write more right now.  
  
IB: Fine  
  
Baka: But, I promise chapter 6 will be done soon. ^_^  
  
IB: Good!!!! 


	6. Chapter 6

Baka: Gomen gomen! Osokunate! WAHHH!  
  
Inner Baka: They are most likely confused by your sudden Japanese ness.  
  
Baka: Heh, sorry. "Sorry sorry, I'm late!"  
  
IB: better  
  
....  
  
Disclaimer: As much as I love Naruto, I don't own the manga/show.  
  
.....  
  
At noon Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke entered the Hokage's office. They moved in front of the desk that she worked at and bowed.  
  
"You summoned us, Hokage-sama?" Naruto said politely.  
  
Tsunade looked up surprised. "Huh? What happened to 'old bag'?" She inquired.  
  
Naruto grinned, "The older you are, the more respect you should get, eh you old bag?"  
  
Tsunade laughed, "Cunning as usual, Naruto." She flipped through some papers then looked up. "I have a mission for the three of you."  
  
The three nodded, all positively curious as to why the three of them were chosen.  
  
"You are to escort a man to the water country. I know it sounds simple, but there seems to be something fishy about this." She twirled a lock of hair around her finger, "That's why I chose you three. You all seem capable to work together and are able to get out of strange situations."  
  
Naruto nodded, "But, what do you mean by 'fishy'? What seems off?"  
  
Tsunade smirked, "He didn't give me his name, plus he looks suspicious. I want you three to stay on guard around him and always expect the unexpected."  
  
The three teenagers stood straight, "Yes ma'am!"  
  
"Alright! You are all dismissed for now! Go get ready for an overnight mission and meet back here in an hour!"  
  
They saluted, "Yes ma'am!"  
  
......  
  
-An hour later-  
  
The cloaked man sighed as he studied the three teenagers in front of him. "So, you're the team?"  
  
They nodded in unison.  
  
"Interesting." He walked to the door of the Hokage's office. "Well, off we go!."  
  
The three followed the man quietly. They understood what Tsunade meant by "fishy".  
  
They walked for four hours straight, and no one really said anything. Not even when they stopped to eat quickly.  
  
It was when the man started leading them in a different direction that Sasuke spoke up.  
  
"Hey. The Water country is the other way. Why are we going this way?" he said to the man.  
  
The man stopped and turned around to face them, making them all stop. He pulled down his hood and showed his face. His features were strong and very masculine, but also quite young. He sighed. "It's hard to explain, but, this mission is more than just escorting me home."  
  
Naruto frowned as he felt his stomach tense. "What do you mean?"  
  
The man frowned, "Is it possible to just trust me?"  
  
"Expect the unexpected" Naruto muttered. "Fine, we'll go along, if anything happens, we can probably handle it."  
  
The other two nodded reluctantly and they continued their walk.  
  
Once it got late into the night, they set up camp for the night.  
  
"Sasuke, Sakura, are we sharing a tent?" Naruto asked.  
  
The two others nodded, leaving the strange man to sleep in his own tent.  
  
"Naruto." The man said, "Can I have a word with you?"  
  
Naruto nodded and followed him into a thicket where they could talk privately.  
  
"Listen. This is important." He started. "I feel it's best to tell you what we're up against here."  
  
The blonde blinked. "Is it serious?"  
  
He nodded. "I'm sort of under cover, here." He rubbed the back of his head, "Someone from your village was kidnapped and brought to this place about 50 miles east of where we were originally headed. That's why we are taking this route."  
  
Naruto nodded. "Who was kidnapped? And who kidnapped them?"  
  
The mans eyebrow furrowed. "I don't know his name, but he is a young boy. About 12. From what I gather, you know him."  
  
"Konohamaru?!" Naruto grabbed the mans collar, "What do you mean?!"  
  
The man brushed the young boys' hands off of him. "And I know very little about the people that did it, besides where they are located and what kind of business they do."  
  
Naruto finally realized what's going on. "N-no, It can't be. Not them. Not the ones that-"he choked back a sob.  
  
The man hushed him, "You seem to understand."  
  
Naruto nodded. "We have to hurry."  
  
The man shook his head. "You guys have to rest. Tomorrow we will move faster."  
  
Naruto nodded then headed back to camp, straightening out his emotions.  
  
"By the way, my names Amenochi." The man smiled. "I think its best you know my name."  
  
Naruto grunted in acknowledgement and continued on to camp. Once he got there he crawled into his tent and explained everything to Sasuke and Sakura.  
  
....  
  
Konohamaru stretched as well as he could while being chained up. He noticed a lot of resistance as he got to the limit of his reach, showing how strong the chains were.  
  
The door opened and he turned his head to the door to see a young woman standing there holding a tray, with what looked like food on it.  
  
Konohamaru realized how long it's been since he ate as his stomach growled. He kept his eyes on the woman as she walked up to him silently.  
  
"Here, eat." She muttered and set the tray on the ground in front of him, her pure blue eyes flashing a cold glance towards the boy.  
  
Konohamaru's mouth gaped and he stuttered out a "Thanks" to the woman.  
  
She turned away and grunted, "Tsh, whatever." She crossed her strong arms and turned on her heel, making her medium blonde hair fan out and her long cloak billow. She walked sternly to the door and slammed it behind her, making Konohamaru jump.  
  
He looked down at the tray by his feet and sat beside it. He studied it carefully, unsure of how pure the food was. *Maybe it's poisoned, or drugged.or or.something!*  
  
He reached out and poked the meat like substance (which was beef, silly boy), and picked up some of the juices from it. He noticed it was warm, and the meat had a nice texture to it, showing it was cooked properly.  
  
He licked his finger, and waited a couple of minutes. And since he did not fall over dead, he decided to take a bite.  
  
Suddenly the door opened again and in came the man from before and also the woman that brought the food.  
  
"Kyou-sama, I said I was sorry. Damn it, let me go!" the woman cried.  
  
"Quiet woman, you were rather rude." He pushed her into the room and closed the door. His boots made a thudding sound as he stormed up to his young prisoner. "I'm very sorry if she was rude to you, I brought her here to apologize."  
  
Konohamaru blinked, "U-uh.no no no! It's ok! She wasn't rude."  
  
"Oh, but she was. You see, she doesn't like you and often says that she wants to be rid of you." He frowned. "That's not nice, is it?"  
  
"Kyou, eh? That's your name?" Konohamaru sneered.  
  
Kyou smiled, "Yeah." He looked over at the woman, "Get over here, woman."  
  
The blonde lady walked up beside Kyou and glared at the boy, her icy eyes shooting darts through him.  
  
"Enough of that." As Kyou said that, the woman straightened and softened her glare a bit. "Better. Now, Shinseiko is here to apologize."  
  
Shinseiko bowed slightly, "I am very sorry." She stood and tugged on her tight top, straightening any wrinkles.  
  
"A-a-ah." Konohamaru stammered, "I-It's ok, really." He chuckled nervously.  
  
"That 'a girl!" Kyou said, almost like praising a pet dog, or something. "Anyways. Konohamaru, eat up. Your friends should be here by tomorrow."  
  
The young male nodded as his eyes brightened.  
  
Kyou and Shinseiko turned and headed to the door. But, Shinseiko stopped and turned around, her eyes soft. "Be careful, Konohamaru." She winked and followed her boss out the door.  
  
Konohamaru was confused as he unconsciously ate the food. *Be careful?*  
  
.......  
  
Naruto stepped a little closer to Sasuke, his eyes wide open, he whispered, "S-Sasuke. D-Did'ja hear that?"  
  
The dark haired boy concentrated and heard a slight rustle in the bushes. "Yeah." He focused his chakra in the direction of the sound, and only felt a weak presence, something similar to a small animal.  
  
Naruto clutched onto Sasukes arm when the animal shifted position again. "It wants me!" he sputtered at Sasuke.  
  
Sasuke rubbed his temples. "It's just a small animal, Naruto. If it attacks you for whatever reason, you can surely stop it."  
  
The blonde looked up at Sasuke with tears in his eyes. "I-It's not just that one. It's all of the animals around here." He whimpered and smelled the adrenaline in air. *Since when could I smell that? Why is it I can understand the animals desire suddenly? AND WHY DO THEY WANT TO COME AFTER ME!*  
  
Sasuke felt Narutos weight change and noticed his hand slide away. He turned around when he heard a thud on the ground. "Naruto?"  
  
Sakura turned around, "Is something- " She was cut off by Narutos body sprawled on the ground. "What happened?!" she rushed over to Naruto and kneeled beside Sasuke.  
  
"I-I don't know. He was just walking beside me; he kept on saying things about how the animals were after him, or something." Sasuke reached down and felt his fallen friend's forehead. "Shit, he has a fever."  
  
The two noticed a dark figure next to them. "What's wrong?"  
  
"I think he collapsed from stress." Sakura mumbled and dug around her bag, "It happens sometimes on big missions, especially with a past like Narutos'." She pulled out a cloth and her water bottle and poured some of the water on it. She rested the cloth on the blonde's head.  
  
"He should be ok after a break." She mumbled.  
  
.........  
  
"Hey.Kiddo" a large voice called out and Naruto opened his eyes. He recognized the place, sort of.  
  
"Where am I?" He mumbled out loud to himself.  
  
He heard some chuckling from up ahead and remembered the place. He got up and ran down the familiar murky tunnel, splashing the water under his feet.  
  
"Hey! Baka Kitsune!" He called to through the bars to the monster behind them. (A/n: baka kitsune means stupid fox. its how Naruto sometimes called the fox demon inside of him.)  
  
A low growl and a rush of foul smelling air passed the boy. "Nice to see you too, Glad you could make it."  
  
Naruto frowned at the monster, "What do you want?" He crossed his arms, showing his impatience.  
  
"You have noticed something, haven't you?" the giant fox growled. "Something strange is happening to you, hey boy?"  
  
"Y-yeah." He uncrossed his arms and looked at the fox. "Do you know what's going on?"  
  
The fox laughed, "Out in the world, you were stressed, very nervous. Jumpy, kinda like fox, hey?"  
  
"Like a fox, you mean." Naruto blinked.  
  
"Yes, boy. I mean due to your stress, you are getting more feral. Your animal instincts are surfacing. And when threatened, boy, there will be nothing stopping you." The fox snorted. "Well, there is one way to stop it, boy. And I'll tell you it, if you so desire."  
  
Naruto nodded, "Tell me."  
  
..................  
  
Baka: DAMNIT, I THINK IT'S STUPID! *shakes head* But I can't help it. I'm sick. Very very sick. And IN PAIN! WAAAHHH!  
  
IB: Shuddup Baka. They don't care.  
  
Baka: Th-they don't? *sniffle* I'M SO UNLOVED!  
  
IB: Tsk tsk, I shoulda kept my mouth shut, eh? 


	7. Chapter 7

Baka: I'm back! I'm back! Oh joyous day! Oh yeah, and for all my excuses, I'm not gonna bore you now, I'll bore you at the end. That is where the majority of the stuff you usually see at the beginning of my stories will be from now on.  
  
Inner Baka: And trust me, she has a decent excuse. Now *pulls out whip* let's get crackin'! *cracks whip*  
  
Baka: EEEEP!  
  
................  
  
Disclaimer: Baka does NOT own Naruto. She barely owns anything Naruto legally. *ahem* I mean, everything she has is legal. Right.  
  
.....................  
  
Naruto opened his eyes and sat up. The air cooled a bit, and the sun was getting lower in the sky. He spotted Sakura sitting next to a tree mixing things together - which was not odd, considering she has medical knowledge.  
  
"Hey, Sakura. How long have I been out?" he inquired, making the girl jump.  
  
She smiled at him and got up. After picking up some of her things, she walked up to him and sat down. "Well, I'd say about two hours. It's around 8 o'clock now."  
  
"What?!" He exclaimed, "God damn it! Think of the time we wasted!"  
  
"Naruto, it's ok, really. All we can do is hurry tomorrow. Anyways, I'm making a medicine to balance you out. Sasuke said you were kind of jumpy." She picked up a small vial with a clear liquid in it. "I'm almost done it. After you take a sip, the ingredients will go into your system and you should calm down and concentrate."  
  
Naruto nodded. "Yeah. Thanks." He then began to look around, "Hey, where are Sasuke and that guy anyways?"  
  
Sakura sighed wearily, "Well, Ame-san said he heard water, so he went to go find the source and bring some back. And Sasuke went to get fire wood."  
  
Naruto nodded. "I see. Are we camping here tonight? I mean, I can continue going. I'm fine, really." However, he was not fine; his senses were still on the fritz. He could still smell the animals, and the wild feeling inside of him did not go away. He smelled a wolf nearby. "Ever eat wolf?"  
  
Sakura blinked, "No, why?"  
  
"Well, we didn't expect this to happen, and we are low on food. There is a wolf nearby, want me to kill it?" His mouth began to water. The thought of killing the wolf and just tearing into the flesh with his teeth - *What am I thinking? I'm not a wild animal!*  
  
"Uh, no, it's ok. Messing with wolves can be dangerous." Then she paused, "Wait, how do you know there is a-"  
  
Naruto cut her off by getting up with a wild look in his eyes. *What are you doing?* His body was out of his control. He felt a strange power, something similar, yet different from the Kyuubi presence; something more mundane.  
  
Sakura stood up beside him, "Naruto? Naruto, what's wrong?"  
  
He grinned at her, and then dashed off into the woods, following the scent of the wolf. He felt his body move differently, he was moving quickly, and soundlessly weaving around trees. He started running on all four's. He stopped suddenly and listened.  
  
"I know you're out there." He whispered. The scent was coming from behind a bush about ten feet away. Naruto crouched and waited until his prey moved. He was reminded of how he used to stalk Sasuke. Except this was different, with Sasuke he was just playing. However, right now, it was real. He was hunting.  
  
He heard a gentle crunching of leaves behind him. He felt someone there. He waited until the person came closer. The scent he was picking up was familiar, but his body continued to refuse to make logical decisions. The presence was now about three feet away, and he figured it was time. He whipped around and pounced.  
  
...................  
  
Konohamaru stretched; glad to be free of his cell. "Ah, fresh air!"  
  
The man beside him smiled, "Yeah. Ah, sorry for locking you up like that. I mean, it really isn't necessary. All I gotta do is keep an eye on you."  
  
"Erm, Kyou-...." Konohamaru paused, unsure of what title to call his prison-master.  
  
Kyou chuckled, "Just Kyou is fine. We aren't going to be in each others company for much longer."  
  
The young boy chuckled nervously, "Yeah, well, Kyou, why are you being so nice? I mean, aren't you supposed to keep me locked up, not feed me, get your lackeys to beat me, and so on?"  
  
Kyou laughed at how naïve the boy was, "Listen, I could harm you, but I'd rather not do anything to anger your little buddies any more than they already would be."  
  
Konohamaru frowned, "Is that so? What makes you think that not being angry makes them weaker?"  
  
Kyou chuckled, "Weaker? I already know what they are capable of. Yes, they are very strong when they are neutral, but when they are angry, especially a certain boy, they get even worse." He stopped walking and looked to the ground, "But that isn't the only reason why, boy. And I don't wish to share anymore with you."  
  
Konohamaru sat on the ground and stared ahead. "He'll kill you."  
  
The older man looked up at the boy, "Who?"  
  
"Naruto." He turned around and smirked at the man, "He's the one who's coming, right?"  
  
Kyou ran a hand through his dark hair and breathed out sharply. "Yeah. And I am aware how he's going to feel, and what he's going to do. Or try to do, depending on whether my plan works or not."  
  
The boy smiled, "You aren't like most adversaries, you know that?" he chuckled at the man's puzzled expression, "You don't head out into battle blinded by arrogance."  
  
The man smiled, "A mans confidence can be a double edged sword, boy. If used improperly you can do yourself in." he sat beside the boy, "If I underestimate the enemy, I'll only be troubled in the end. But, if I analyze the situation, and deduct from that, I can know my enemy."  
  
Konohamaru blinked, "So what have you figured out so far?"  
  
"Well, you are Sarutobi Konohamaru. Grandson of the late third Hokage. Surely, they don't want anything bad to happen to you. And considering my agents in Konoha arranged the whole thing, Tsunade sent out three skilled ninja. I already know who one is, for sure. I can guess the other two easily. Uzumaki, Uchiha, and Haruno. I already knew Uzumaki would be sent; I set this up especially for him. But if my agents did their job properly, which I am hoping they did, the other two should be correct."  
  
"So, you set it all up just to get Naruto here." Konohamaru stated, "Why do you want him? And why didn't you just kidnap him?"  
  
"Well, it's a long story, boy." He sighed and brought his knees up, "And I do not wish to tell you. Let's just say he's strong, probably stronger than me."  
  
...................  
"Ouch! Sakura! Can you be gentler?!" Sasuke yelped.  
  
Sakura sighed, "If you keep on squirming, it'll only hurt more!"  
  
Naruto paced beside them, he glanced at Sasuke. Sakura was bandaging Sasuke's shoulder. But even now, the blood was seeping through. He felt a pang in his chest and still tasted the blood in his mouth.  
  
............... Flashback ................  
  
*Here wolfie, I know you're there.* I stepped forward towards the bush I felt the wolf hiding behind. I felt my ears perk at a sound behind me. Foot steps. I wondered who it was. The presence came closer. And before I could stop myself, I turned around and lunged at the thing.  
  
"Naruto!" a familiar voice said, rather surprised. I knew who it was, Sasuke. But I still could not stop myself. Next thing I knew he was yelling in pain, cursing at me, tearing at my head. Trying to...  
  
Trying to detach my jaws from his shoulder. But I held on tighter and bit down harder. The taste of his blood consuming my mouth.  
  
....It was delicious.  
  
But after some struggling and fighting, someone else came around and managed to get me off him. Everything went black.  
  
..............  
  
Naruto felt sick to the stomach, "What's wrong with me?" he mumbled more to himself than the others.  
  
But Sasuke responded to his mutterings, "I dunno, you tell me. Why the hell did you bite me?"  
  
The blond boy felt tears in his eyes and shook his head. He sat on a rock and dug around his pockets. He felt something glass and pulled it out. The vial. *Oh, right. Maybe it WILL do something.* He pulled the cork off the top and drank it.  
  
"Naruto?" Sakura said softly, "What was that you just drank?"  
  
Naruto blinked then chucked, "Are you really that forgetful, Sakura? It's the medication you made for me."  
  
Sakura looked completely puzzled, "Medication? I didn't make anything for you."  
  
"What are you talking about? You were making it while I was unconscious earlier. You know, when Sasuke and Amenochi were gone."  
  
"What? Sasuke and I left, Amenochi stayed and watched you." She frowned and was silent as she finished working on Sasuke's shoulder.  
  
"Thanks Sakura." Sasuke frowned and pulled his shirt back on. "So you say someone that looked like Sakura gave you that? Where was Amenochi?"  
  
Naruto looked around, "I dunno. He wasn't here."  
  
Coincidently, the man came out of the woods with a canteen. "I got some more water. Oh, Naruto. You're up. Heh, you are quite the fighter. I had a hard time getting you off of Sasuke."  
  
Naruto looked down, "I-I'm sorry..."  
  
Sasuke sighed and smacked Naruto across the head, "There. There's your punishment, forget about it." He paced up to Amenochi, "Where were you before that? You were supposed to be watching him! And now he just drank something that someone gave to him while you were gone!"  
  
The man blinked, "I was only gone for a couple of minutes. I had to take a piss. It's impossible that someone could have come here."  
  
Sasuke rubbed his temples as if feigning off a headache. "A piss? Couldn't you have waited any longer? At least till one of us came back?"  
  
The man frowned, "But I did. Sakura came back. When I got back, Naruto was running off and I told her to stay here while I went and got him."  
  
Sakura stood up, "Someone must have came here disguised as me." She looked at Naruto, "Naruto, you are a good enough ninja to...Naruto?"  
  
Naruto was sitting there, his eyes were glazed over and his mouth was hanging open. Closer inspection showed that he was perspiring and his breathing was getting erratic.  
  
"Naruto?" the girl went up and laid him down; she took off his shirt and folded it, resting it under his head like a pillow. "Fuck, this is turning out bad. I wonder what he drank."  
  
Sasuke decided to finish off what Sakura was saying, "Naruto is a good enough ninja to see though all henge jutsu's. And you were fooled by the person too."  
  
The man thought for a moment. "This seems like a thing he'd do. But what was in the vial?" he walked over and picked up the little bottle and smelled it. "Well, that was completely useless. No scent."  
  
"Here" Sakura held out her hand, "Maybe you aren't trained to smell such things." After receiving the bottle, she sniffed it. "Hm..." She sniffed it again. "It definatly has medical ingredients." She ran her finger over the rim then licked her finger, "Oh god, strong."  
  
"How could you smell anything?" the man pondered, "I mean, it has no scent."  
  
She smiled, "It's not the scent. It's the fumes." She dug around her bag and pulled out a notebook. She began to write in it.  
  
He nodded. "Do you know what it is?" He walked around behind her and looked over her shoulder to what she was writing.  
  
"No, I don't. Sasuke, can you get a cloth and wet it?" she wrote some more and mumbled some of the things she was writing, "Perspiring, dazed, erratic breathing." she continued listing off symptoms.  
  
"What are you doing?" the man asked her.  
  
She paused for a moment, "Writing down his symptoms. After that I'm going to write down what I can pick up from that vial."  
  
"Kay, Sakura. I got the damp cloth. Now what?" Sasuke said while holding the cloth.  
  
"Can you wipe the sweat off his face? After that, rest it on his forehead." She was back at writing, she did not seem to miss a beat while instructing him.  
  
"O-okay." He mumbled and kneeled next to Naruto. He gingerly rested the cloth against his friends' cheek. He wiped the cloth over his cheek and over his forehead.  
  
Sakura pulled a book out of her bag and began to look through it. After several minutes, she sighed loudly. "I wish he'd snap out of it.I mean I need to know more." She looked over at Sasuke. He was lying down next to Naruto, his hand on his shoulder. She noticed his breathing was shallow and even. A smile spread across her face. "Sweet dreams."  
  
Amenochi kneeled next to her, "What do you need to know?"  
  
She sighed, "Hm, like, how he feels, and so on. There are several things that are matching what I noticed, but it's how he feels that can narrow it down." She paused and thought for a moment. "Tell me more about.this guy you continually mention. What kind of methods dos he use?"  
  
The man sat down and leaned his back against a rock. "Oh, where should I start?" He sighed and thought for a moment. "Well, during the couple of years that I have known of him, I've seen and heard of things that he's done." He paused and seemed to be searching for words. "He's into breaking people down before getting a hold of them. He also sometimes gets his lackeys to spy, or brainwash people."  
  
She looked up, "Brainwash? How?"  
  
"Oh, I don't know. I've never actually seen anyone brainwashing people. That was just a rumor. But it's one we should be weary of." He looked over at the semi-unconscious boy.  
  
She looked over some pages in the book. "Does anyone in the group have any mind-control jutsu's, or anything like one?"  
  
He looked at her and thought, "I'm not completely sure, but the leader has some type of jutsu that influences the mind."  
  
"The leader? Can you please tell me his name?" Sakura said while reading the pages some more. "I think I might have figured something out."  
  
"Oh, his name is..." he paused yet again, "Shinzuino. Shinzuino Kyou."  
  
Sakura's head snapped up, "Did you say Shinzuino?"  
  
He blinked at her, "Uhm, yeah. Shinzuino."  
  
"Oh god, what have we gotten our selves into?" she placed her head in her hands.  
  
The man looked puzzled, "What, you've heard of him?"  
  
She sighed then nodded, "Yes. I have. How can I forget such a thing?" She placed a leaf on the book then closed it, saving her spot. She straightened up and sighed once again, "When we were learning about history back at the academy, we learned all about major clans and such. And we learned not only of the Fire Country, but from all the countries and hidden villages.  
  
But how can one forget a history as gruesome as that of the Shinzuino family. It makes me wonder if Konohamaru is even alive..."  
  
...................  
  
Baka: Chapter FINISHED!  
  
Inner Baka: Odd place to end?  
  
Baka: There is a reason. ^_^ Next chapter: history of the Shinzuino family!  
  
IB: Ya know what? This is turning out like the show. "Big thing happens, group gets together, traveling along/working away, stuff happens, suspense builds, a whole episode dedicated to the history of a new character/bad guy (sometimes we're lucky and get 2 or 3 episodes! -.-') characters continue on adventure, meet up with bad guy, inner emotional tragedy (or something else just as fun), fight fight fight, and.ending unknown? Naw, the ending is always known. Ha!  
  
Baka: Yeah. However, trust me; the whole chapter is not going to be the history, heh.  
  
IB: Did you not say you were going to make up excuses now?  
  
Baka: Oh yeah! I forgot. *clears throat*  
  
Ok everyone! As for why this took so long.  
  
I got sick. I was off school for two whole weeks. My brain was not creative. That was not fun. Then, I was swamped with homework. Then, I got sick again. This time it was a sinus and throat infection. This was around mid December, right before Christmas break. I actually had to miss two days of school in the last week. Man that was so un-fun. Now, during Christmas break.I was still sick. Sickness = no ideas! Oh yeah, I forgot, like, the Tuesday of the week before Christmas holidays, my computer DIED! Now, if that does not suck, get this. The problem was that my POWER SUPPLY died, and it took the MOTHERBOARD with it. Therefore, I had to get a new motherboard and new power supply. Moreover, because my new motherboard was not compatible with some of the old things, I had to get new things. In addition, you know what else? I lost all my files. *smiles* including my documents. Like my pictures and STORIES! Fuck. And right now, this very moment, I am still sick, but recovering happily. I have been sick for 3 weeks. *nods*  
  
IB: Yes, Baka was having a stupid time. But hey, she is back, and updates will be more common. :D  
  
To all people who commented last chapter: Hi! I know you were waiting for the next chapter, unless you were all turned off for whatever reason. (I will kill you if you say there was gay porn in my story again. There IS NO PORN. Jeez, so far, nothing has happened and they ARE NOT TOGETHER...............yet...)  
  
So, anyways, I'll be seeing you next chapter!  
  
Next chapter of "After Innocence":  
  
Sakura tells Amenochi the story of the adversaries past. The story is both violent and gruesome. It will most certainly be interesting.  
  
Also, what just happened to Naruto? Sakura explains all in the next chapter of "After Innocence: Life after childhood". 


	8. Chapter 8

Baka: Ok, I'm going to give it my best writing a history chapter that is both interesting and informative.  
  
Inner Baka: Oh? Is that so? Well, good luck!  
  
Baka: *eyebrow twitches as she grabs IB's collar* Oh? Where are you going?  
  
IB: *sweat drops* Well, ya see...  
  
Baka: I don't want to hear it! You are stayin' here! With me! HELPING WITH THE STORY!  
  
IB: *sighs* Yeah yeah...fine.  
  
.............  
  
Disclaimer: Baka does NOT own Naruto. Honestly, do I need this disclaimer? I mean, is it not obvious that this is FANFICTION? Considering it is at fanfiction.net, I am QUITE sure it is. *sigh*  
  
............  
  
Last time in "After Innocence":  
  
Sakura sighed then nodded, "Yes. I have. How can I forget such a thing?" She placed a leaf on the book then closed it, saving her spot. She straightened up and sighed once again, "When we were learning about history back at the academy, we learned all about major clans and such. Moreover, we learned not only of the Fire Country, but also all the countries and hidden villages.  
  
But how can one forget a history as gruesome as that of the Shinzuino family. It makes me wonder if Konohamaru is even alive..."  
  
...............  
  
After Innocence Chapter 8 "Shinzuino, Part 1."  
  
.................  
  
It was about 50 years ago during the Ninja World Wars when the Shinzuino clan left their mark in history.  
  
During the wars, chaos reigned supreme in the governments across the world. Often country leaders were killed and their position taken by tyrants. Then someone else would come along and kill the tyrant, and start a new tyranny of his own.  
  
During the midst of Torimura Houji's tyranny in the Earth Country, a simple traveling medicine man ventured into a village. The man set up shop on the roadside. People were flocking to him with injuries and disease. They told the foreign man stories of how they came to be in such states.  
  
Torimura-sama was sending his men to destroy the peasant farmer's fields. He would injure, or even kill those who spoke ill of the government. He took all doctors to his mansion for his own health, paying no heed to the townsfolk. He raised the taxes, and if someone could not pay with money, they would pay with their life.  
  
After hearing the stories of the townsfolk, the traveler felt mercy for the folk, and treated them for no cost.  
  
However, word of the doctor spread to Torimura. He sent for him, and the man could not decline.  
  
After the tyrant had a brief meeting with the doctor, Torimura-sama decided to keep him alive and by his side. Little did the doctor know that Torimura had other plans for him.  
  
One night, while the doctor was sleeping, one of Torimura's specially trained Shinobi snuck into his room. Under the orders to find out who the doctor really was, the Shinobi, which was trained mind reading jutsu, began his work.  
  
After a few minutes, the Shinobi failed with the basic techniques and concluded that the man suffered from memory loss; therefore, accessing the memories was impossible with ordinary jutsu. After trying higher level, and moving onto extreme level techniques.  
  
The things the Shinobi found out were that this man was powerful, and was rather corrupt. The doctor, by the name of Shinzuino Yogarasu, also had a chilling bloodline technique. A powerful mind reading and controlling technique that can turn even the worse of enemies into your best friends, right before you stab them in the back.  
  
The next day, the man felt different. He could read people a lot easier, even by just looking at their eyes, he could tell if a person was lying or not. He also felt some of the strangest feelings; like lust, and greed. It was strange to him.  
  
That night, when he was checking Torimura's health, he could hear his thoughts. He found out he wanted to destroy the town. The doctor still had some of his morals left, and told Torimura that it was foolish.  
  
Torimura, shocked that this man knew what he was thinking, and that he was questioning his authority, sent the doctor away.  
  
That night, the doctor had horrifying dreams. The dreams were of violence, rape, and theft. He picked up a name from the dreams. Shinzuino.  
  
When he woke up the next morning, he was terrified. After some thought, he realized the man in the dreams was he. Those dreams were memories of his past, a past he had forgotten.  
  
He immediately went to the library and browsed through books, looking for Shinzuino. But, without any luck.  
  
He asked around town, but no one knew. He finally went to Torimura and asked him.  
  
Taken aback, Torimura realized the opportunities from having a man that, according to rumor, to be very corrupt and powerful on his side were great. He told the doctor all he knew of Shinzuino, but information was scarce since Shinzuino was merely a wealthy landowner.  
  
After listening to what Torimura had to say, the doctor shook his head in disbelief. He did not want to accept the fact that the past he had forgotten was a cruel and terrible one. A past where he had raped the maids of the household and never paying them, and killing them if they did not show up to work, or decided to quit.  
  
Feeling ill to the stomach, the doctor went to his quarters to lie down. After some tossing and turning on his futon, he fell into a deep sleep.  
  
....................  
  
Meanwhile, Torimura called two of his Shinobi warriors into his presence. He informed them of another thing about Shinzuino. That he was quite skillful with a katana. The Shinobi were puzzled as to why Torimura- sama was informing them of someone they never even heard of.  
  
Torimura handed them a katana and told them to place it next to the new doctor's futon. He instructed them to attack the man, as if to kill him, when he woke from his slumber. He was planning to make the doctor completely realize his memories of his past, and to get him to rule with him.  
  
..........  
  
The doctor woke with a start. He noticed something was different. However, before he could place his finger on what was off, he heard a noise. All of a sudden, a dark clothed man barged in through the window.  
  
In a panic, the doctor ran to the door, but another dark clothed man greeted him. He recognized them as Shinobi.  
  
The two ninja drew their katana, and advanced on him. The doctor's knees grew weak and he fell backward. He scuffled over to the side of his futon, his hand landing on something hard. He grabbed whatever it was and held it out in front of him.  
  
He gawked at the sheathed katana in front of him, curious as to how it got there. His hands began to move on their own will, over the katana and onto the handle. He unsheathed the katana, and stood.  
  
He felt quite awkward holding the sword, but when one of the ninja rushed at him suddenly, his body reacted and blocked the attack with his sword. He felt something come over him as the ninja moved to strike again. He predicted his movement, to his surprise, and dodged it completely.  
  
The doctor felt something dark spreading through his veins. He began to feel powerful, something he somewhat liked. He hardened his stance and held his katana tight, ready for whatever came at him.  
  
He focused on the ninja, they were being cautious; they must have known that something like this was going to happen.  
  
He began to hear their thoughts, as he accidentally did a couple of nights ago with Torimura-sama. He pushed himself further, not afraid of the power anymore. He began to dig deeper into their minds, just letting his mind wander in theirs.  
  
He picked up some bits of conversation. He recognized the voice as Torimura's, instructing them to attack the doctor when he woke up, to awaken the buried memories.  
  
There was a sharp pain in his head and he fell forward onto his knees. Memories began to come flooding into his mind. After a couple of minutes, he crouched, and caught his breath. He stood up and looked at the two ninja -- his eyes had changed.  
  
He sighed with relief and grinned, holding his sword up. He rushed at the two ninja and slashed their throats before they could react.  
  
He wiped the blade of his sword on the blanket on his futon then set the sword onto the ground. He got up and left the room.  
  
..............  
  
A few days later, after the cremation of the body of Torimura-sama, the unceremonious dumping of his ashes tainted the river. The medical specialists identified the cause of death to be poison.  
  
Shinzuino smiled as he walked up to where Torimura used to sit, and took a seat himself. He declared himself ruler, and killed anyone who tried to take the title from him.  
  
Though he was rather rash with punishment, he cared for the townsfolk. He sent his men to replant the wrecked fields, and had the doctors released. He lowered the taxes, because he was not in need of money. Soon, the townsfolk thought of Shinzuino as a Godsend.  
  
The folk had no reason to speak ill of Shinzuino, so there was no punishment. At times, people tried to take his throne. His own hand, of course, killed those people. He was careful, and knew what was going on around him. It was nearly impossible to kill him.  
  
After a few months of his reign, he was satisfied with the level of trust and respect from his people. In addition, he saved the tax-money, and he did not waste the money on frivolous activities. However, he was short on staff. He decided to put up an ad looking for people to work for him as maids.  
  
The people responded quickly and jovially. Soon, he had thirty women waiting for his approval. His lust grew when he noticed a few exceptionally beautiful women. He singled out the most beautiful ones, and sent the more unpleasant looking ones away.  
  
After that, he studied the women before him. He gathered information from them. Mostly just their names and what they were good at.  
  
However, one woman caught his eye. She was stunningly gorgeous. Her hair was a deep auburn with curls to her shoulders. Her skin was flawless, and her eyes looked like emeralds. She did not need a bodice to maintain a slim figure; she was naturally like that.  
  
He found out her name was Amakuro Fumiko-ojousan. She was the daughter of his top Shinobi, Amakuro Jujiro.  
  
When he asked her what she was good at, she smiled and told him that she was good at nearly everything.  
  
Her response intrigued him, and he nodded. He was sure going to hire her. After going through all the women, he picked five of the best women there, Fumiko-ojousan being one of them.  
  
...........  
  
It took a few days for Shinzuino to get used to the women scurrying around the house, but when he got used to them, he barely noticed them. They were so quiet and quick with their work, that they seemed like ghosts.  
  
However, the women drew his attention despite their quietness. He could not stop his eyes from wandering over their soft facial features, to their round bosom and to their firm buttocks. Nevertheless, if he screwed up here, he could pay for it later. Therefore, he kept his temptations under control, and tried his best to keep away from Fumiko.  
  
However, luck seemed not to be on his side...  
  
After he finished his work, he went to his room for the night. When he got in his room, he noticed one of the maids heating up a warming pan in the fireplace. Fighting the wild thoughts entering his mind, he asked her to leave.  
  
She turned around; her auburn hair bouncing as she did so and her green eyes twinkling like emeralds in the sun. Her lips curved into a smile as she walked up to her master.  
  
The lord quickly regretted hiring Fumiko as a maid. She was simply too irresistible for him. Swallowing his pride, he turned around and asked her to leave. Shinzuino leaned against the wall as he heard her footsteps move past him.  
  
Fumiko stopped and rested her hand on his back; she began to massage his muscles when she felt him tense up. Her fingers moving gently over his back, she reached up and began to pull off his jacket.  
  
Shinzuino began having an internal conflict. This woman was showing interest, but he did not want to ruin his reputation. The hands snuck up the back of his shirt after the removal of his jacket. A small shiver of pleasure ran up his spine. He once again began to fight with himself.  
  
Yes, he could damage his reputation; however, if she promises not to say anything it could be fine. His body began to react to her touches and he sighed. The flesh beat the mind and spirit in this battle.  
  
He turned around and wrapped his arms around Fumiko, pressing his lips to hers. She responded as hoped and returned the kiss, running her hands over his back. He broke the kiss and buried his face in her hair. He told her not to tell anyone of this; she agreed.  
  
Kisses turned to touches; night turned to dawn. Shinzuino woke in his bed, sun shining into the room. He gave a blissful sigh as he remembered the events of the night before. The images of Fumiko's heavenly body beneath him and the sound of her soft moans filled his memory.  
  
Suddenly a knocking on his door snapped him out of his reverie. He scrambled out of bed, pulling his underwear on and sliding on his robe. He opened the door to find one of this other maids, Koiko-san, with some clean laundry. The interruption is what he needed; he was already late rising that morning.  
  
Once Koiko-san left the room, he began to dress. He figured Fumiko already left earlier, not wanting the other maids to notice her absence. She could make and excuse about cleaning late, and once she got back, everyone was asleep.  
  
Shinzuino walked to the dining room and another of the maids, Tamoe- san, was just placing food on the table. He sat at his spot at the end of the table as she set a plate in front of him.  
  
He looked at the food and smiled. Rice noodles with a side of fermented soybeans and a bun. He told Tamoe-san to give the chef his compliments and ate.  
  
..........  
  
Later that day, while Shinzuino was practicing his martial arts, Fumiko came to him. She seemed rather distraught as she approached him, demanding his attention.  
  
Shinzuino paused his practice to go over and wrap his arms around her. He thought it would be safe, since no one was around now. When she did not respond, he pulled away and looked at her.  
  
She told him she was going to need to leave for a week. She had important business to attend to. However, she did not say what business it was.  
  
He thought for a moment, but decided it would be ok if she left for a while. He leaned in to kiss her, but she stepped away. She then bowed and left, thanking him.  
  
Shinzuino then went back to his practice, though he could not concentrate very hard on his moves.  
  
................  
  
Baka: There is a good reason why I'm breaking this up into parts. Mostly because it's excessively long, and is talking a long time. I wanted you to know that I am working on it.  
  
IB: Yeah. She has five more pages of this part after what she has here, but she wants to stop it here because it seemed appropriate. She is working on the rest of it now. It's nearing completion, just a couple more events.  
  
Baka: Yeah. And, as you can see, I am trying to keep it interesting. Oh, I nearly forgot to add some explanations of some things in the story. I'm sure you all understand the words, and if you don't, look them up in a dictionary.  
  
Q: Why does he sleep on the futon in the floor, but then sleeps in a bed later? A: The setting is similar to Japan when the English began to show up; therefore, not many people had beds. Actually, no one had beds. It was considered a luxury to have beds. Therefore, lords and other high-ranking people had them while average folk had the roll out futons.  
  
Q: How come Shinzuino knows how to make balms and stuff?  
  
A: Well, he must have had some medical knowledge before. Remember, before he regained his memory he was a doctor. As to where he got that knowledge, it would be too much to explain here and in the story.  
  
Q: How did Shinzuino lose his memory?  
  
A: His father was still alive and used the family bloodline to render Shinzuino unconscious and while his memory. Since his father has had more experience, it worked. His father wasn't happy with how he acted, and that's why he did it. I didn't cover that in the story because it would have made the story a lot longer.  
  
Q: A government relies on it's people, why would Torimura do that to the people? A: I don't know. Why did Hitler set up those death camps? Well, power is one thing. I guess it made Torimura feel powerful.  
  
Q: What do their names mean?  
  
A: Most of them were made up, but I tried to think of something that could work for the characters.  
  
Torimura – Bird Village Houji – Treasure holder  
  
Shinzuino – Essence of (originally came up with for Kyou) Yogarasu – Night Crow Kyou – Wickedness (not easy to find the translation to get it to mean that)  
  
Amakuro – It is sweet black (I know, it makes no sense) Jujiro – Gun pardon Fumiako – Changed to Fumiko Fumiko – Wealthy beautiful child  
  
Koiko – love/tender passion child Tamoe – It is burning (interesting translation, eh?) 


	9. Chapter 9

After Innocence   
Chapter 8, "Fated Battle"   
Author: BakaYarou   
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but I own the characters in this chapter.  
Additional Notes: Read the end of this chapter for my reasons why this is so flippin' late.

* * *

The week was going slow for the Lord. Three days after Fumiko left, her father, Jujiro, came to his office. Shinzuino gestured for the man to relax and to wait a moment while he finished some paperwork.  
When Shinzuino finished he noticed Jujiro did not relax one bit. He immediately apologized for making him wait, but Jujiro shrugged it off.  
The Shinobi leader rubbed his brow trying to ease off some tension. He informed Shinzuino that he has not seen or heard from his daughter in days. He was wondering if his Lord knew anything about it.  
Shinzuino leaned back and furrowed his brow. He was curious as to why Fumiko would leave without telling her father. He told Jujiro that she left for a week to take care of some personal business.  
Jujiro was confused. He was wondering what could be so important that she would leave without informing him. He asked about her performance at work. Then asked if she gave any hints as to what this business could be.  
Shinzuino praised her work around the house, and informed him that he had no idea where she went, only that when she told him she was leaving, she seemed very unhappy.  
Jujiro bowed and left, satisfied with the information. He had a feeling that Fumiko was going to be ok and would talk to her when she got back.  
The Lord pondered the subject a bit further, and wondered if her leaving had anything to do with that night. After some thought, he went back to work,  
The rest of the week was rather eventless, minus Betsu the cow escaping, wandered to the market, and began eating one of the vegetable vendor's foods. Shinzuino had to apologize, and paid the merchant for what the cow ate. He got a carpenter to re-enforce the fence and to check for any place that animals could get out.  
Shinzuino was at the North end of town on his way to an herbalist's place for some spices when he saw Fumiko entering the North gate. He jogged over and greeted her.  
She was surprised to see him, even after he explained why he was here. She commented that Lords usually send others for errands.  
He smiled at her and told her that he is not like other Lords. He asked her to join him, and she nodded.  
After visiting the herbalist, they headed back to the mansion. On their way, he told her the story of Betsu the cow. They both laughed at the end of the story.  
When they got to the mansion, Jujiro was waiting in front. When he saw them, he ran up and put his arms around his daughter, asking where she had been.  
Shinzuino felt he should leave this father daughter moment to them, and went to go sort out the spices and last minute herbs he got. After sorting, he took the aloe and seaweed and set them aside. He decided to make a wound salve with them later.  
There was a knocking on his door. He got up, slid the door open, and saw Fumiko. He smiled and gestured her in. She nodded and came in.  
He kneeled in front of the table he was sitting at before and reached for a mortar and pestle. He noticed Fumiko was still standing and gestured for her to kneel too.  
She kneeled at the table obediently and silently watched him put aloe and seaweed into the mortar. While he was grinding the ingredients with the pestle, he asked what she wanted to see him about.  
Fumiko shifted uncomfortably and cleared her throat. She began to talk about nothing in particular; like the weather and such. She jumped when he rose his voice a bit, demanding to know what was wrong.  
He set the mortar and pestle down and took a deep breath. He apologized for raising his voice, and grabbed onto her hand. He looked her in the eye and told her to tell him what was on her mind. He told her that he would listen, because he cared.  
She looked down and blushed. She told him she was feeling sick and that is why she left. She went to her nurse, which lived a few miles north of the village. She had a feeling she already knew what was wrong, but she went just to make sure.  
Shinzuino smiled and told her she could have come to him since he did have medical knowledge. Right after he said that, she pulled her hand away and took a deep breath.  
She closed her eyes and held back some tears. She told him she did not want to come to him unless she was sure. She halted her speech for a moment while she wiped her eyes. She clutched her skirt and summoned up all her strength to tell him what was wrong. She looked in his eyes and told him she was pregnant.  
Shinzuino's brow furrowed as he went silent. He picked up the pestle and tapped it on the side of the mortar, getting off the mixture that was stuck to it. He got up, grabbed a small container, scooped the mixture out of the mortar, and put it in the container.  
The silence bothered Fumiko, so she asked him what he thought of it. She watched him kneel back down and think.  
He told her that she was a beautiful woman, and that she was talented and smart. She was a wonderful person, but...  
Her eyes fell when she heard the word 'but'. She could not believe that he would do this. That he would abandon her like this.  
...But he was not ready for that kind of commitment. That she should maybe go and find another man who could be a father to the child.  
Fumiko stood up, her fists balled tightly. She cursed at him and ran out of the room crying. She ran to her father's quarters.  
Shinzuino sighed and lay back onto the floor. He knew exactly what was going to happen next. To daddy dearest, she went. Then he would have a confrontation with said father.  
He knew that he would have to spill someone blood. Not Jujiro's, he had that healing jutsu that would prevent him from taking a major wound, which is why he made it to such a high position in the military. It would have to be Fumiko's blood he would have to spill. Such a pity that such beauty will have to go to waste.  
With that, Shinzuino got up and decided to take a trip to the herbalist's again. He cleaned up the table and got ready to go.   
  
..........  
  
Jujiro demanded a meeting with Shinzuino, and he agreed. The Lord already knew that he wanted to discuss the pregnancy of his daughter. Therefore, he suggested a dinner meeting between the three of them.  
It was a basic meal, just rice, noodles, and fried vegetables. Shinzuino looked over the meal happily and told Tamoe-san to compliment the chef for him once again.  
Once she left, he went to Fumiko's dish and pulled out a small pouch. In the pouch contained crushed Dokuzeri root. He poured some onto her food and awaited the arrival of his to honored guests.  
The discussion was short. Mostly about why Shinzuino slept with her, and why he would not accept the responsibility of being a father. The Lord was quite honest with his answers. He slept with her because he was physically attracted to her, and she was coming onto him that night. He did not expect that she would want a serious relationship out of that. In addition, about being a father, he just was not fit to be a father.  
After the discussion they ate, they all enjoyed the meal and the father and daughter left right after. Shinzuino stayed and smiled as they left. He knew that no matter what, the woman would try to get him to play father. Therefore, he had to get rid of her. He did not need women trying to get close to him.  
  
.......................  
  
Later on that night, while Shinzuino was soaking in the bath, someone burst into the bathroom. Alas, it was Jujiro. And he was mad. The Lord smiled and asked for a reason as to why the man was intruding on his bath.  
Jujiro accused Shinzuino of poisoning his daughter. He pulled out a sword and pointed it at the man in the bath. He threatened to kill him.  
Shinzuino smiled and pushed the sword aside. He got up and put on his robe. He suggested a fair fight, since it was dishonorable to attack an unarmed man so directly.  
Jujiro sheathed his sword and agreed. He told him to meet him in an hour at the central gate of the mansion. Shinzuino nodded and left to change his clothes.  
While he was changing, he contemplated Jujiro's ability, the ability to heal rapidly. For the Amakuro clan, the amount of Chakra it took to heal like that was minuscule. He paused for a moment, what if Fumiko had the ability as well. He was not sure; no one ever told him if she had any ability, he always assumed she did not inherit the ability. Nevertheless, just because no one told him, does not mean she did not. He would have to ask Jujiro later.  
He contemplated how to kill the regenerating man, and thought of several possible ways to prevent him from healing. He would have to attack Jujiro's Chakra system, or destroy his heart and/or brain at once. He chose the latter because it would be simpler, he did not want to have to search for his main Chakra bank, though it was usually in the belly or right around the heart. Now, as to how to destroy the brain or heart quickly during a battle he would have to figure out. He smirked as he came up with a plan.  
  
......................  
  
Jujiro was leaning against the gate when Shinzuino arrived. The moonlight cast an eerie glow across the shinobi's face. He frowned and walked up to the lord. They both just stood there for a moment, letting the atmosphere sink in.  
Shinzuino commented on how the weather was perfect for a fight. After he got no response, he scowled, and asked if Jujiro really knew what he was getting into.  
Jujiro smirked and replied that he knew a lot about Shinzuino Yogarasu. His felt a large amount of contempt for the man in front of him. Its not that this feeling was new to him, he felt it long before the incident with his daughter.  
Shinzuino clicked his tongue and mentioned that no one ever called him that anymore. He felt threatened by his knowledge of his name, and was quite curious as to how the man knew it.  
Jujiro chuckled and told him that he used to live in a town called Satetsu, and that he knew all about the crazy proprietor. Eventually, he moved to Iwa to continue his training as a ninja. When Shinzuino appeared in Iwa, he feared the worst. His daughter wanted to take the job as a maid. At first, he told her no. However, he also considered the fact that Shinzuino was acting a lot different from what he remembered. He let his daughter go apply for the job. Nevertheless, Shinzuino was no different than he remembered.  
Shinzuino grinded his teeth slightly, and frowned deeply. If word of any of this got out, he would be done for. There was no way he would let Jujiro live. With that thought, he grabbed the katana at his waist and flicked the blade free.  
The older man smiled at the lord and pulled his sword out of his sheath. He knew it was foolish to fight him. The lord, after all, was intelligent, strong, and feared by those that oppose him. However, he did not care whether he won or lost, the public will see what Shinzuino as he really is.  
Shinzuino knew that there would be consequences in killing Jujiro, but keeping him alive could also spell disaster. He knew that Jujiro wanted this. Either way, the public will react poorly.  
He asked Jujiro if he was sure he wished to fight. When Jujiro said yes, Shinzuino cursed and took a stance.  
Jujiro also got into a stance. He waited until Shinzuino attacked. It turned out the lord had a large amount of patience. Feeling eager, Jujiro attacked, slicing towards Shinzuino's right shoulder.  
The lord predicted the move and dodged. He smiled and pulled out a bottle of sake. He took a swig from the bottle. He knew Jujiro was just testing him, because he was smart. He would not just attack blindly without a reason.  
  
............  
  
To be continued...sometime  
  
Baka: Well, Yeah, I know, this is very very late. But, I don't care. No, I'm not quitting on you. However, I read "After the Break" again, and was inspired to rewrite it, putting in some of my new writing skills and fix it up a lot. So, that's why I didn't update. I thought, "Since I'm gonna be rewriting it all, why continue right now?"  
  
So, I'm stopping it here, and hopefully it won't be too long before I put up the new, revised version. So, keep your eyes peeled for "After the Break" popping up again in the next few weeks. I'll leave the old versions up until I upload the new versions. So, till then, ta ta! 


	10. Chapter 10

After Innocence  
Chapter 9, "Fated Battle, part 2"  
Author: BakaYarou

Baka: There are reasons why I didn't update this. Those will come later.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Jujiro frowned at Shinzuino's overconfidence. He tried to figure out a way to fight the lord without actually thinking; fully understanding that Shinzuino was reading his mind. He attacked a few times, just to try and keep the lord pre-occupied while he thought. He realized that the years spent training as a youth were going to prove useful.

Leaping back to a defensive stance, Jujiro concentrated his chakra to his brain and closed his eyes. He stood incredibly still as he held his sword in position. Wile he stood still, Shinzuino was growing impatient. After a few minutes of not moving, Shinzuino noticed a change in the other mans' thought patterns. They were erratic, and made no sense. He focused on the mans face and saw his eyes moving rapidly beneath his lids. "He's asleep!" he thought in shock.

Taking a step to the left, the lord tested the old mans reaction. To his surprise, the older man reacted and moved to face the lord. Chuckling, Shinzuino took an offensive stance and grinned, "Well, this is going to be fun." He was delighted at the thought of fighting someone he could not read. Also, not only can he not read him, he is going to have to make the first moves.

Lifting the sword up with his right hand, he positioned himself so the blade was pointed directly to the mans heart. He then dashed forward and made a stabbing movement, only for his blade to be deflected with the other mans sword.

"Yes, this is what I had hoped for," taking a few more swings at the other man, Yogarasu chuckled when he felt a blade cut into his shoulder. The pain was excruciating, and exhilarating. He had not been injured in a long time, and it was refreshing.

Stepping back and taking up position again, he rushed at the other man and made a move to slice at his gut. When the other man moved to block it, he flipped the sword around and swung his arm back, grazing his chest instead.

Shinzuino then took a few steps closer and swung his sword in a circle, just missing the other mans neck by an inch, and continued to swing at him, but continually kept on missing. It was when he felt the warmth running down his neck that he realized that he was beat.

Shinzuino tried to take a breath in, but could not get any hair into his lungs. Glaring at the half unconscious man, he took his sword and jabbed it into the mans neck. With that, he fell forward, and the world slipped away.

* * *

A young woman was cooking dinner for her son when there was a knock on the door. Wiping her hands on a towel, she stopped what she was doing and shooed her son upstairs. Opening the door, she found the mayor of Satetsu waiting with a worried expression on his face.

"Oh, Mayor! Please, come in!" she gestured to let him in, and he obliged happily.

"Wow, you really tidied this place up! It looks a lot more homey, now," he said warmly. "But, I have a question for you, Miss Fumiko. It's about your last name, Shinzuino. Are you related to the former owner, Yogarasu?"

Smiling warmly, Fumiko tossed her auburn hair back, "Yes. He's my late husband."

Nodding understandingly, "Well, you seem like a nice your lady. You said, late, he's dead?"

Looking down at the floor, she sighed grimly, "Indeed. Despite problems in the past, he became such a nice man. I loved him dearly."

Giving her a pat on the shoulder, "I'm so sorry for your loss, Miss. Please, forgive me." After patting her hair, he took his leave, and wished her the best of luck.

After closing the door, she leaned against it and smiled.

* * *

Baka: Like I said, I am going to give you my reasons for not updating.

Reasons:

I despise Naruto now. I hate it with a burning passion.

I don't want to continue this, and I don't even remember where I was going with it.

I don't like Naruto anymore.

I really don't like Naruto anymore.

Seriously, I don't like Naruto anymore.

I am no longer continueing this fanfic. If someone would like, they can continue it, and I'll add it for you to this, or something (giving all credit to you, of course). Thanks for following this, and enjoying it. I just don't enjoy Naruto anymore.


End file.
